Broken Shards
by HolyDragonsEye
Summary: Naruto is on his way to visit Sasuke when he gets attacked. Sasuke finds him and takes him home. What happens when he learns the details of the incident? SasuNaru Darkfic/Rape R&R! UPDATED!
1. Prologue

**Hey everyone!! I'm back! I've been thinking of writing one like this for a while but I never got the chance to until now. It's going to be a dark one, that's for sure! I've planned it being around 15 chapters or so in length. This is only the prologue so it's not as long. Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer for all chapters: I do not own Naruto. If I did...well...it would strictly be a yaoi series. **

* * *

Naruto shivered in the cold and bitter wind. It was late autumn and the air around him was biting cold. Of course, Naruto being the dobe he was, had forgotten to bring his coat and was now walking as fast as he could to get to his best friend's place, clad in only in a cheap t-shirt and shorts.

He and Sasuke had become very good friends over the last couple of years. After Naruto had finally brought Sasuke home from his quest to avenge his family, they had slowly begun to learn more about each other, and accept their friendship. Now, Sasuke didn't mind having the dobe as his best friend. Naruto, on the other hand, started to realize deeper feelings for the raven.

Yes, Naruto had developed a crush on the Uchiha. He'd never admit it; he didn't want to ruin their friendship. He knew that Sasuke would be disgusted with him if he ever discovered the blonde's true feelings. After all, being the only Uchiha left, he had to fulfill his duty and make sure the clan didn't die out with him. He sighed at this thought and continued walking.

The group of boys who were walking behind him was getting really annoying with their loud voices. Not only that, but they were also full-out insulting him. Though Naruto had matured over the years and realized that the village's anger was directed more towards Kyuubi rather than at him. It still upset him. He had grown used to the Kyuubi…and they even got along sometimes…_sometimes_; it all depended on the demon's mood.

Unfortunately, the voices of these particular boys sounded vaguely familiar to the blonde. And so, he turned his head around, casually looking over his shoulder. He immediately turned to face the front again, his heart beating frantically.

He recognized the faces of most of them; they were the ones who had beaten him up when he was younger. Although they had said it was to ensure that the Kyuubi was properly sealed up, the blonde suspected most of it may have just been for fun.

Naruto squared his shoulders and continued walking at a brisk pace. He quickened his steps after a while, noticing that the gang was going in the same direction as he was. _Just my luck…_

He took a right at the next corner into a side alley. He didn't really know his way around this side of the village, but he didn't' want those guys to catch him either. He took a left and stopped. It was a dead end. _Crap_, he thought as he turned around to go another way. He didn't get very far though as he found himself face-to-face with them. He shuddered.

"Hey, fox-face," the leader smirked. "We weren't sure if it was really you…but…then again, no other person in this village would wear as filthy clothes as yours." He gave an evil grin and the others behind him snickered in response.

Naruto was pushed backwards and he turned around and ran towards the wall blocking the other side. He looked around frantically for some hidden escape route. He didn't have any of his ninja weapons with him since he had planned to use Sasuke's and the walls were too high to scale. He was trapped.

"Hey, look guys! Fox-face thinks he can get away!" one of the boys said, laughing. The others joined in and pretty soon they had Naruto surrounded and trapped in a corner. There were seven of them and only one of the blonde. He gulped, dreading what was to come.

"You're still the same, aren't you; the same monster who tried to get smart with us the last time." The leader said. Somewhere in the back of Naruto's mind, he recalled that his name was Kaido.

"Heh and you're still the same, too. Still need six other people to help beat up just one, scrawny defenseless guy?" Naruto said smugly despite the terror and panic that was quickly spreading inside him.

He saw the anger boil up in Kaido's eyes for a split second before a speeding fist made contact with the blonde's jaw. Naruto stumbled, caught off guard by the sudden punch, but he regained his balance and was able to dodge the next two punches. He quickly shoved two of the guys aside and made a run for it. However, he only took two steps before one of them tripped him and he fell – hard. Before he could get up, two of the guys had grabbed his legs and were dragging him back. They kicked him a couple of times and allowed him to finally get up.

The blonde stood up slowly, leaning against the wall for support. He took a few deep breaths and then let out a grunt when he felt a fist hit his stomach. He fell over again as he was hit again, this time by a foot.

"Not so tough anymore, huh?" one of the boys said as he aimed his fist at the helpless blonde.

He dodged the next punch and was able to sit up. Giving a smirk, he was about to make a move when one of the boys sprayed something in his face, and he was struck at the side of his head.

He took in a deep breath out of reflex and ended up breathing in the gas that was still surrounding him. He immediately felt dizzy and weak, and he realized, with fear, that it was getting harder for him to move. His head felt fuzzy and his body was being overcome with pain. He didn't know what was going on anymore; he couldn't focus on anything. At that point, he realized the boys had gagged him while he was in his state of utter shock and confusion.

Move punches came his way and he closed his eyes out of reflex as he continued to receive the injuries quietly. It was hard to tell how long this went on for – it felt like an eternity to Naruto – though it may only have been several minutes.

The blonde opened his eyes when it was finally over and the boys were laughing at how weak he was. He felt something warm trickle down the side of his chin and was shocked when he discovered it was blood. _Ugh…great…_

Naruto grunted again in pain as he tried to get up. Although he felt more pain shoot through him, he knew he had to get away now that it was over. He found that he still had control over his body, but his movements were sluggish.

The boys pushed him down again, though, and Naruto could faintly hear them snickering. Their tone of voice hand actions sent a wave of panic to the pit of his stomach.

"The fun's only beginning, there's no need to leave just yet," said one of the boys. Naruto's eyes widened as he saw his enemy slide his hands down to the buckle of his pants.

_No, please…don't! Oh God – no – please…you can't!_ His mind screamed. He hurriedly tried to get up… to find a way to escape…but with all the others blocking his way, there was nothing he could do.

He felt their hands all around him, groping him, as they turned him so that he was lying on his front and had his arms and legs locked in place, making him unable to move.

The blonde closed his eyes in desperation to try and block everything out as he felt them pry at the buttons of his pants.

He felt so pathetic, like a cheap piece of trash. This is what I get, he thought, my punishment. And I can't do anything about it. They should just kill me…

He felt his pants slide down his legs, along with his boxers. Sensing the other boy getting ready to have his way with him, Naruto's body tense in response. He gasped as he felt a digit enter him, and then a second one right after it. They tried to stretch him out, which caused him much pain. He closed his eyes shut and tried to overcome the unpleasant feeling. Minutes later, they were gone and he felt relieved at not having to deal with something moving inside him.

It was without warning that the other male's hardened member hammered into him and he screamed from the unbearable pain of it. Tears ran down his face, soaking the ground underneath him. He sobbed and whimpered at every thrust. All he wanted was to cover up his face and disappear. He felt something break inside of him as the pain continued to sear through him.

He could faintly hear the grunts and moans of Kaido who was clearly enjoying the moment. Naruto's face sank deeper into the ground as he tried to distance himself from the other as much as possible. He didn't want this. He didn't want to deal with this. He just wanted it to end; to be able to crawl into a hole and be left alone for all eternity. He wanted them to get it over with and just kill him.

Finally, when the boy inside him had had enough, he pulled our, a satisfied smirk playing at his lips. "Well, I guess you're not useless for everything, loser. Your turn boys…"

Naruto's eyes widened in shock. _No…no more…_

He curled up into a ball, trying to melt into his surroundings. He flinched when he felt their arms around him again.

"Let's _double_ the fun, shall we?" Naruto heard one of them say before he was forced on his hands and knees. He closed his eyes shut again, tears still streaming down his face and his mind still screaming for help, for death.

Rough hands traced his jaw line and stopped at the back of his head. Suddenly, his gag was pulled off. Naruto gasped and prepared himself to call for help. Not even a whimper was able to escape his lips, however, as he felt something long and hard being shoved into his mouth. He gagged and instantly pulled back in disgust.

The hands at the back of his head held him firmly in place, though, and he had no choice but to stay in that position. He tried to fight back and was about to bite down but he was met with a slap in the face.

"Listen closely you slut," someone whispered in his ear, causing shivers to run down his spine. "You're going to make us feel good and you're going to like it." Naruto could faintly see the reflection of a switch blade from the corner of his eyes.

The thing in his mouth pulled back before shoving into him again, roughly. He felt the despair run though his veins as he complied with their wishes and dreadfully resisted the urge to bite down, hard.

A few moments later, he felt hands groping his cock. That was the only warning he got before he felt something shove into him again, from behind.

He tried not to scream in pain – not that he even could. He felt his muscles tense…This was what they had meant by double the fun. He closed his eyes and detached himself from the God awful reality that he was currently a part of. His consciousness sank back into the darkness of his mind where it was safe, where no one could hurt him any longer.

He could hear their grunts and moans as though they were coming from far away and he knew that their voices would forever be etched into his mind forever.

A while later, he felt the one in his mouth tense up and felt a hot liquid fill his mouth. It was all he could do to not choke. He let it dribble down his chin and he tried to spit it all out, wanting to rid his mouth of the awful taste. Moments later, he felt the hot liquid shoot inside him again as his entrance was once again filled up by their filthy cum.

"Well, wasn't that fun?" Naruto heard the voice as though it were miles away. His head was still spinning and he felt like throwing up.

"We should do that more often when our girls are being bitchy again," they sniggered.

Naruto didn't respond. He lay there, motionless, his eyes empty and soulless. He felt nothing as another couple of boys had a go inside him as well. Tears stained his cheeks continuously, even as he felt his flesh split open under the blades of their knives. He really was pathetic. He could never do anything right…he was always a burden to his friends and companions. It was no surprise that this hadn't taken place any sooner.

He could faintly feel the blood pouring out the various cuts and wounds that adorned his body, and the sick pool of semen near his groin which posed as a fresh reminder of what had just happened.

Before the boys finally left, they made sure to kick him once more for good measure and spit on him. They laughed and joked and mocked him as they made their way back to the main street.

Naruto lay their, half naked, for a while longer. He then slowly – painfully slowly – stood up, cringing in pain, and walked over to where the rest of his clothes had been discarded. He put them on to feebly protect him from the growing cold; his body was in severe pain and he could barely even remain standing.

The tears had dried up now but he could still hear himself whimpering in a voice that sounded as though it belonged to another.

Two steps were all he was able to take before he collapsed, face front, and went unconscious. His last thoughts were of his best friend and how he hadn't been able to reach Sasuke's place in time.

* * *

**Well, what did you think? If you see any mistakes or anything, please let me know! Next chapter, Sasuke finds Naruto...**


	2. Reflection and a Denial of Sorts

**Here it is everyone! Chapter two to Broken Shards! I'm currently working on number three right now and, if everything goes as planned, it should be up by next weekend. This chapter focuses a lot on the immediate aftermath of Naruto's rape. Things will start to get more interesting in number three. Remember, I'm taking this slowly because I want things to develop naturally. **

**AspergianStoryteller: Yes, he could have, but for the sake of the story to go on, he didn't. There are also some other reasons for this which you'll find out if you read this chapter. **

**Just A Keepsake: Thanks for point that out!**

**Charybde: No, it's not an alternate universe, well not really. I just added that Naruto was traumatized in the past by Kaido and so he froze up in the last chapter and couldn't do very much.**

**Thank you everyone else for the rest of your comments! Now, on with the story!**

* * *

It was days like these which Sasuke looked forward to the most. He sipped some of his tea as he gazed out the window. It was autumn and the wind was biting cold. The sun was setting quickly as a result of the shortening daylight. Naruto had decided to come over to help him train tonight. Sasuke smirked inwardly, thinking that maybe the only reason he liked today was because of Naruto's expected arrival.

He looked over at the clock; it was almost seven-thirty. The raven frowned. Naruto was supposed to have come at seven sharp. He shrugged it off however as he remember it was the _dobe_ whom he was expecting; of course he'd be late.

Draining his cup of the tea, Sasuke stood up from his place at the kitchen table and walked over to his training room after putting his cup in the sink. He might as well warm up while he waited.

"Ugh…ha...ha!" he grunted a he practiced his taijutsu on the sand-filled dummy. Adrenaline pumped through his veins. He couldn't wait to train with the blonde; it always got him excited. He wasn't sure how to explain it, but ever since he had returned to Konoha, he had started to view Naruto in a different light. The thought of him always brought a smile to his face and he never wanted to see the dobe's own smile disappear; he wanted to protect him. Sasuke wasn't sure what this new feeling should be called. Perhaps it was just a result of realizing the importance of friendship? But…he never felt this way about Sakura, or any of his other friends; it was just Naruto.

Pausing his actions against the training dummy, he looked again at the clock. He frowned again. It was now eight forty-five. He hadn't realized he'd been training for so long. And Naruto still hadn't arrived yet. Sasuke went over to the window and peeked out from behind the curtains to see the almost black night sky.

Even though Naruto was a dobe, Sasuke knew he'd never be this late or forget their meeting. It was highly unlikely. With his brow furrowed in worry, he quickly washed the sweat from his face, grabbed his coat and stepped outside. He knew he was overreacting; Naruto could take care of himself just fine. But his instincts told him to find the blonde – and fast! And so, he quickly took to the rooftops and made his way to Naruto's house.

He scanned the area underneath him as he took the short-cut route. He didn't really see anything suspicious or any sign that the blonde may have been in the area. Upon reaching the dobe's house, he noticed that the lights were not on.

"Naruto!" Sasuke called out as he knocked on the door. No answer came. He tried a few more times, with the same result. And so, he opened the door and walked in. He always felt bad that Naruto had to live in this dingy area where even the lock for the door wouldn't work.

He had considered, more than once, to ask the blonde to move in with him. After all, he had the whole Uchiha estate to himself. But, he feared things would get awkward if that happened. Plus, he knew Naruto would never agree to it. He was too stubborn to agree to it.

Sasuke searched the whole apartment for any sign of the blonde or where he might have gone, but had no luck. There was no sign of anything out-of-the-ordinary…besides the fact that the dobe had left his coat at him.

The Uchiha took the coat in his arms and left the apartment with an even deeper frown on his face. Where could the dobe be?

He went to search all of the places Naruto frequented; Ichiraku's ramen shop, the training grounds, Konoha Academy, the Hokage's place, even Iruka's house. Still, there was no sign of him. He refused to ask anyone in case they'd seen him and he didn't think the villagers would even care.

This made his blood boil. He hated it when the villagers picked on the blonde for having to be the Kyuubi's vessel. It wasn't his fault. No one deserved to be picked on because of that, especially Naruto. Sasuke knew the blonde always did his best to prove to the world that he wasn't what they made him out of be. He as always kind and helpful, always making people smile. He didn't have any family, but he was still so strong, _always_ so strong.

Sasuke decided to follow the route Naruto always took to get to the Uchiha estate. It was getting very dark now and he knew that he'd have to head home soon since he wouldn't be able to see much once all the lights had gone out. He looked at his watch and noticed, to his dismay, that it was nearing ten.

Many of the lights were going out already and the moonlight started to dominate the village. As Sasuke passed by an alleyway, something caught his attention, glinting in the moonlight. He drew closer and discovered it was a knife. Picking it up, he noticed that it was covered in blood. He touched it, it was cold. Immediately, his shinobi instincts took over and he found himself following the trail of blood leading towards the back of the alley. He shuddered as a cold breeze swept by him. He turned the corner and stopped – frozen – at the sight before him.

"No…" he breathed.

He couldn't believe it. He refused to believe it. But that didn't erase the image in front of him that would forever be imprinted in his mind.

Lying there before him, broken and bloody was Naruto. He was curled up into a ball in one of the corners of the alley's dead end. There were droplets of blood surrounding him and he was very badly bruised. Even the very little amount of clothing he was wearing was torn and bloody. By the intense moonlight shining down on the blonde, illuminating him like a broken angel, the Uchiha could see the shivers that took over his unconscious form.

Sasuke walked over robotically and knelt down beside him. He reached over and tenderly brushed the blonde locks of hair out of the dobe's face. He couldn't help but gasp. There was a very dark bruise that was developing near the edges of Naruto jaws. Also, there was a long gash across the boy's cheek. He could faintly make out the dried up tears that had now mingled with the blood on the boy's face.

Remembering that he had brought Naruto's coat along, he covered up the shivering blonde, trying to be as gentle as possible. Satisfied, he gingerly took the blonde into his arm, holding him close. He checked the boy's pulse, and his heart sank. It was very weak and the boy was also clearly shivering from the cold.

"Naruto…oh, Naruto…" he murmured gently to the boy in his arms. He turned him over and let another gasp escape his lips. Along the front of the blonde's chest, where his shirt was ripped apart, Sasuke could clearly see the wounds that marred his body. It was as though someone had tried to cut him up into ribbons.

It was clear that the blonde had been attacked; the alley was covered in blood and the Uchiha could only hope that not all of it belonged to the blonde. He clutched Naruto closer to him and held his cheek gently. He was surprised to find fresh tears scattered across the boy's cheek. He realized they were his own.

"Oh, God, Naruto." _What happened to you? Who did this to you? Why you?_

Tear continued to stream down his cheeks as he lifted Naruto into his arms and carried him to the Uchiha estate. Once he reached the mansion, he laid the blonde down on his bed. When he looked down at his hands, they were red from the dobe's blood. This only increased the despair that started to creep through him.

Robotically, he retrieved a wash cloth and some bandages. Slowly he peeled off Naruto's thin and blood stained shirt, revealing the bloody scars that were hidden underneath. He ignored them as best as he could and set to work on cleaning the wounds. When he finished, the cloth in his hands was red from wiping away all the dried up blood. The Uchiha glared at it in anger, wishing it would go away. He sighed when it was still there and started to work on bandaging up the dobe. Although he knew that the lower half of the boy was also bloody and bruised, Sasuke didn't think Naruto would appreciate him removing his pants. And so, the raven had to resort to tending to the wounds that were visible through the rips in the boy's torn garments.

When he was finally finished, he put all the supplies away and made sure that the blonde's breathing was stable before tucking him in and leaving the room. He sat down on the couch and ran a hand through his hair.

This was all wrong. This wasn't supposed to have happened! At this time, he and Naruto should have just finished training and started to head back inside. He shouldn't be sitting alone in quiet anticipation and having his heart full of worry and concern.

What frustrated him most was the fact that the worse always seemed to happen to Naruto. Always. And he didn't deserve any of it! He had too kind a heart for him to be going through all of his. This made Sasuke's blood boil with anger once again.

The raven grunted in frustration and made his way to send word to Sakura about the blonde's condition. He knew she would be insanely worried and would jump at the first chance to be able to help her injured friend. He considered letting her know in the morning but he knew it wouldn't be fair to her. Besides, Naruto's condition was more important then having to deal with his over protective teammate.

Once he had someone send the letter to her (in which he explicitly wrote for her to come in the morning, not immediately show up screaming in his face) he went back to his room. He found the blonde sleeping in the same position he had left him in.

Taking a seat on the edge of the bed beside Naruto, the raven reached out and stroked the boy's cheek. Although it was hard to tell by the raven's expressionless face, the sight of the injured boy before him had him feeling heartbroken.

He knew how strong the boy was, having been rivals and teammates with the dobe for so long. Even when the two had first been picked to be part of Kakashi's team, Sasuke had always known there was something special about the blonde.

As he brushed some hair away from the dobe's eyes, Sasuke noticed the slightest hint of a smile appear on his innocent face. He felt some comfort in knowing that he was able to support the blonde while he was in this condition.

A frantic knock on the door snapped the Uchiha out if his reverie. Cursing under his breath, he made his way to the front while wondering who it could possible be at this time. The knock came again and so he quickened his pace.

He opened the door and was immediately pulled into a hug.

"Sasuke!" said the girl. "Oh, at least you're okay! I got your letter and came over with all my supplies as fast as I could. Where is he? Is he okay? It know you said to come in the morning, but I couldn't--"

She was cut off by Sasuke who had finally pushed her off, "Sakura! It's okay, calm down!"

Sakura looked down at her feet sheepishly as Sasuke led her inside towards the bedroom where Naruto was.

"I'm sorry. It's just that you're letter really freaked me out when you said that he was hurt, so I assumed the worse," she let out a gasp as she saw the injured blonde laying on the bed. She let her bag drop to the floor and ran over to his side. "W-what happened? How could _Naruto_ end up like this?"

"I don't know," Sasuke replied and he felt the guilt run its course through him again. "I found him like that."

"_Found_ him like that?" Sakura echoed, hoarsely.

The shock and concern in her voice stopped the raven from voicing his initial thought about her annoying voice. Although at first he had thought she was overreacting, he felt she was right to feel that way. And so, he brought the supple bag over to her as she kneeled beside their unconscious teammate.

"I cleaned and bandaged most of his wounds. I didn't do much to his legs though," he said as he stood beside her, looking over at the blonde.

"I-it's okay. I'll fix all that," she sighed and started taking out various medical instruments from her bag, "I'm glad you informed me about all this."

"Hn," he didn't trust himself to say anything more. He watched in continued silence as Sakura used her chakra to heal all of the blonde's most obvious wounds.

Finally, just when Sasuke was wondering how much longer it would take, Sakura removed her hands and sat down on her knees. She wiped the sweat off her brow and gave Sasuke a small smile of reassurance. "H-he should be okay, but it'll probably be a day or more before he wakes up; the wounds were quite extensive."

Sasuke gave a curt nod and returned his gaze to the boy sleeping on his bed. His expression was peaceful now and the raven hoped it would stay that way. He especially couldn't wait until the boy told him who had done this to him so that he could beat the life out of them and then send them to a world of eternal pain and misery. They deserved it for what they did to the dobe.

Sakura stood up, gathered all her belongings and headed out the room. The Uchiha reluctantly let his gaze fall from the blonde and followed Sakura out as well.

She put on her shoes and turned to face Sasuke, her eyes looking down at her feet.

"I can't stay any longer tonight," she spoke, "I've done all I can for the moment. Watch over him as much as you can. I think someone should be taking care of him constantly until he wakes up; there's a chance his condition could possibly get worse."

"Okay," Sasuke nodded his head in understanding. "And what about tom--"

"I'll take care of it. I won't tell Kakashi exactly what happened, but I'll let Tsunade-sama know first thing in the morning to make sure everything's alright."

The Uchiha nodded his head slowly in comprehension, his mind full of thoughts of the blonde.

Sakura turned to go but paused and turned around again, adding, "Oh, and Sasuke…"

"What?"

"Keep calm," she left before the Uchiha could let out a reply, closing the door behind her.

Sasuke was left staring at the door. His eyes were glazed over and he felt empty inside. He felt as though he had lost a part of his soul. The image of Naruto lying bloody and broken found a way into his head and he scrunched his eyes shut, wishing it would go away.

Sakura had told him to stay calm. How could he stay calm? How could he ignore the way his blood boiled or the way his heart tore inside him at the sight of Naruto lying there on the bed, unconscious? Half of him wanted to run out into the night and try to hunt down the one who had caused this. The other half of him wanted to take the injured blonde into his arms and hold him like that for eternity.

He shook his head. He couldn't go off looking for the culprit; he didn't know where to start looking. Until Naruto woke up and told him, he couldn't wring anyone's neck.

And as for holding and comforting the blonde, well, he just couldn't. Naruto was in a delicate condition and he didn't want to accidentally hurt him. And he had to control his desires. It wouldn't do to have the dobe wake up to find the world's gone crazy because his rival was _holding_ him. If that did happen, Sasuke was positive he could be pushed away and he couldn't bear the feeling of such a painful rejection.

Straightening up, Sasuke walked over to the kitchen and made himself some tea. Tea always calmed him and he really needed to calm down, as Sakura has suggested. His heart was in turmoil. He had never felt so confused and useless. Throughout his entire life, he had always known what he was good for and how to use his extraordinary skills to achieve his goals; things had always been so clear. Not anymore. Not now.

Now, he didn't know what to do. Sure, Naruto had been injured plenty of times before, but this time something was different. He was sure of it. Although he had experienced near-death situations before and watched Naruto do the same, the condition and circumstances in which this latest incident had occurred was _different_.

Sasuke could sense, even though the blonde was still unconscious, that this time something had happened to tear at the blonde's spirit. That was something that had never happened before. To all the Konoha shinobi it was a part of life to have Naruto be there beside them, joking and spreading his happiness to those around him. It was one of the things Sasuke loved most about him.

The Uchiha smiled sadly, remembering all the times he had spent the blonde; Konoha academy, missions with team seven, the Chuunin exams…and everything that had happened since.

Emerging out of memory lane, he took his now empty cup of tea and washed it. When he was done, he went back to the bedroom. It was as though time had stopped, watching the blonde breathing softly, still unconscious.

Sasuke sat down at the edge of the bed and held Naruto's hand. It was still cold, but much better than it had been before. Gently stroking the boy's hand, Sasuke watched the blonde intently, looking for any sign of discomfort. He wanted to make sure the blonde recovered as fast as possible so that things could get back to normal. _And so I can pulverize whoever did this to him_, Sasuke thought.

He wished this had never happened to him but since it already had, there wasn't anything he could do except wait for the dobe to wake up. The Uchiha desperately wanted to know who it was that had the nerve to even lay a hand on the precious blonde. He wanted to find that person and beat them to an inch from death. He wanted them to pay for what they had done, for stealing the blonde's spirit.

Although Sasuke really hoped the blonde's condition wasn't that bad, he didn't know what he would be capable of doing if it turned out that Naruto was hurt more than he appeared to me.

Looking at the time, he realized it had been nearly hours since he had found the blonde…lying there in the alley…broken…bleeding. Sasuke shuddered, trying to ignore the horrid images that popped up in his head.

Four hours…Sasuke hoped the fox demon had started healing the dobe now. He couldn't see any difference in his condition because Sakura had healed the most visible wounds. Nonetheless, the Uchiha desperately wished Naruto would soon open his beautiful eyes and wake up and say that he was okay with a big grin on his face.

Sasuke rested his head in the palm of his hand and brushed his bangs out of his face. He sighed. Why couldn't he do anything right? Why was he never able to make the right decisions and protect those he loved? He hadn't been able to save his parents, he had betrayed the village and joined Orochimaru, and when he had finally been given a chance to redeem himself, he had let Naruto get hurt. Why? How?

Maybe he was cursed. He was doomed to forever screw things up and spend his life wallowing in the guilty of it all. He gulped and glanced back at the blonde.

No. He was strong. Just like Naruto. It wasn't his fault his parents had died; he had been too young to do anything about it. And he had only gone with that snake bastard to gain more power so he could protect those he loved and avenge the family he had lost. And this time, he would make sure he made whoever did this pay for their insolence.

He gripped Naruto's hand firmly and made a silent vow to personally take care of whoever did this to him.

"Naruto," he spoke softly, "I'm right beside and I always will be. I promise to get back at that bastard. So, it's okay to wake up now. You're strong Naruto and I know you'll be fine in the end."

Naruto found himself lying on the floor of a dark room. It wasn't cold, but it wasn't warm either. He did feel something, though, but he couldn't tell what it was. It was as though, everything was just there.

He moaned and slowly sat up. He looked around him. There were no walls, only the floor upon which he sat. It also wasn't very dark. There was a faint glow of orange light, but it didn't have a direct source determining where it was emanating from. The light was all around him, surrounding him.

Noticing he was wearing clothes, he looked down at himself. It was odd...he didn't remember changing into his pajamas. In fact…he couldn't remember anything that had happened recently.

He concentrated and thought hard, trying to remember what happened last.

Oh yeah! He and Sasuke had decided to get together for some extra training later in the evening! Then what was he doing here, wherever "here" was?

Standing up, he felt a sharp and unimaginable pain strike his body. It was everywhere! And it burned like no tomorrow! Shutting his eyes and grunting from the pain, Naruto struggled to stay standing.

When it got too much to handle, he slumped back down on his knees, breathing hard as the pain finally started to subside. He was on all fours now and he could feel the sweat that dripped from his face.

"Ugh," he panted. "What was that?"

The words echoed all around him, seeming to go on forever. He sat back on his knees and looked at his hands, trying to determine what may have triggered that awful bout of pain.

He shuddered. There was something about all this that just didn't seem right; why couldn't he remember anything? Had he fallen asleep? Was this all a dream? Why couldn't he wake up? He wanted to go see Sasuke!

Growling in frustration, he tried to stand up again.

"Arg!" he failed miserably as pain struck his body again. It felt like he was being sliced up into ribbons!

Dropping back to his knees, he panted, trying to regain his energy. What was wrong with him?

"This had seriously better not be a dream!" he cursed to himself.

"This is not a dream."

Naruto's head snapped up in surprise at the sound of the voice. He looked around trying to locate the source of the words. There was no one in sight. Had he imagined it? He couldn't have; that voice sounded familiar.

"Who said that?" he called out. He was definitely getting a funny feeling about this.

There was a loud snort of annoyance and then the voice spoke again.

"Of courses; it's just like you to forget the other half of yourself."

_Other half?_ What was this guy talking about? He was about to voice his thoughts when it came to him: it was Kyuubi. Kyuubi was the other half of him, inside his head.

"Kyuubi?"

"Some respect would be nice."

He had been right, it was the fox demon.

"What's going on? Am I in your head again? Why does it look so different? How come--"

Kyuubi cut him short, clearly irritated. "I brought you here. You're not in my mind. This is another place where I can get your chakra level back to normal."

"What?! What's wrong with my chakra? What happened? I don't remember anything!"

"Calm down! It's already taking a lot for me to talk right now _and_ fix what you did."

"What--"

"Just shut up and wait."

Naruto sat down properly – which took a lot of effort surprisingly – and crossed his arms and pouted. Kyuubi was not in a good mood today and neither was he.

When the demon finally spoke, his voice was a deep rumble that filled the air around him. And for some odd reason, it felt very comforting to the blonde.

"There was an idiotically annoying incident while you were on your way to that Uchiha's house."

"What happened?" the blonde asked calmly. Inside, his mind was starting to panic. He had gone to Sasuke's? What had happened? Why couldn't he remember?

"Nothing overly important. The problem is that you're weak right now. That's the reason it hurts when you stand; I only have enough power over you right now to relieve you of the pain while you're down and staying put."

Naruto clearly noticed the way the fox demon had avoided telling him what happened. Why would he do that? His confusion increased and he let out a growl of frustration once again.

"What do you mean it's not important?! If it wasn't important, then I wouldn't be in the condition I'm in right now," he exclaimed. "Tell me what happened!"

"I can't. I don't share your memories and I don't pay attention to the life of a petty human brat. I don't know."

Naruto knew that was a blatant lie, he wasn't stupid. Closing his eyes he took in some deep breaths and concentrated on trying to remember what happened after he and Sasuke talked.

Kakashi had called them for a brief meeting the morning, Naruto remembered him being late as usual. After that, they had spent time training and sparring in pairs. It wasn't for very long, only an hour or so. Then Sasuke has asked him if he wanted to continue in the evening and he had agreed. He recalled telling the teme he would have dinner with him and then he had walked home. Naruto could remember making some ramen and then cleaning up his room. And then…what happened next?

His eyebrows furrowed as he started to think harder, but he just couldn't recall anything after cleaning his room. Naruto opened his eyes and looked straight ahead of him at the seemingly endless 'room' he was in.

"Kyuubi," he said. "How long until I 'wake up'?"

He thought he'd try a different method at getting the demon to spill the beans.

It was a while before the demon responded, "Three hours."

"What?! And what am I supposed to do for three hours? I can't even stand up!" Naruto roared.

"That's not my problem."

Naruto cursed under his breath and crossed his arms. The damn fox demon was really starting to get on his nerves; he wasn't getting any answers and now he was stuck here for a whole three hours. He sat in silence, quietly cursing to himself, until the Kyuubi decided to interrupt his colourful display of curse words.

"Can't you keep quiet for even five seconds?" Clearly, the demon was angry.

"Well at least I'm not all quiet and stuck-up like you!" Naruto stuck out his tongue.

Suddenly, a feeling of immense pain took over his body and he convulsed violently. He felt like he was on fire and he couldn't stop the scream that escaped his lips. He didn't know what was wrong but all he wanted was for it to be over, so that he could at least breathe without having to yell out in pain.

It was several minutes before he finally felt his body sink down to the floor. He curled up, clutching his sides where he could still feel the pain dissipating. He could faintly hear the echoes of his screams disappear into his surroundings.

"Next time," he heard the Kyuubi rage, "don't try my patience."

Naruto gulped ad wiped the sweat off his forehead. He sat up cautiously and flinched in hear of being struck with pain again.

He brought his knees to his chest and huddled up into a ball. Resting his forehead against his knees, he closed his eyes and once again resorted to trying to remember what happened.

It was nearly a half hour later when he reopened his eyes and looked up. He still hadn't been able to recall anything of importance, and now the worry and fear was slowly spreading through to the rest of his mind and body.

"Kyuubi," he called, breaking the silence that had now engulfed them.

A growl came forth from the demon, relaying to the blonde that his voice had been acknowledged.

"Kyuubi, I need to know what happened. I know it's something important," his voice was calm, yet demanding at the same time. He could tell deep down that whatever had happened was something big and he _had_ to find out what it was. How could he let a part of his life be left forgotten? However small that fraction of his life was, it was crucial that he know.

It was quiet for a long time as the Kyuubi took in Naruto's words. Just as the blonde felt ready to start arguing, the demon spoke.

"It's no something you are going to like…or enjoy experiencing," the voice rumbled across the area.

"I don't care; I want to know!"

"It will also be painful."

"That doesn't--"

"And," the demon cut in, "I won't be able to take it back. It will forever be in your memories."

"What does that mean?"

"Right now, I've extracted your memories from the…incident. Once you have them back, they stay that way. Don't come crying to me if you don't like it."

"Don't worry, I won't," Naruto said firmly.

The demon was quiet for several minutes and Naruto wondered if he decided not to return his memories. Naruto would be more than ticked off if that was the case. He deserved to know what had happened. It was frustrating having the demon keep secrets from him. For a big chunk of his life, Naruto had been deprived of the secret of the nine tails; he didn't want to spend the rest of his life wondering what happened…right? He was about to call out to the demon when he heard a low growl surrounding him.

"You're making a mistake. You'll regret it afterwards."

"Just show me! I don't want to argue about it; my mind is made up," the blonde replied firmly.

"Fine, don't say I didn't warn you!" the demon grumbled.

Slowly, Naruto noticed the warm glow around him starting to dim. Everything was turning dark and soon enough he couldn't even see his own limbs. He could feel, in the back of his mind, a voice screaming at him to stop. He gulped. Maybe…maybe Kyuubi had been right? He knew the demon would never have kept the memory from him unless it was really bad. But, he couldn't do anything now. He closed his eyes shut and let the demon unfold his memories for him. There was a flash of blinding white light and Naruto found himself on the familiar path to Sasuke's house. He tried to bring his hand out of his pocket to check the time, but found he was unable to do so.

_That's weird_, Naruto thought. He tried to look around him and turn his neck, but once again failed to do even that. It then came to him that he was reliving his memory in his body without the control of his limbs. This way, he realized, he wouldn't be able to change anything that went on. _I can only experience this, not change it._

Naruto soon stopped trying to move on his own accord and let himself be carried away, literally, by the memory. Soon enough, his body twisted back to look over his shoulder at the group of boys who were around his age that were following him. Fear struck the pit of his stomach as he realized who they were. _Oh no!_

Fifteen minutes later, he found himself trapped at the back of a deserted alley with no to escape as the group of boys surrounded him.

"Hey, fox-face!" Kaido smirked. "We weren't sure if was really you…"

No! Naruto's mind screamed. He heard himself talk back to the boys and instantly knew this was going to get messy. Was he really so stupid as to provoke _Kaido_?! He felt pain sear through him as the boy s kicked, punched and sliced him up. This was nothing compared to the pain he had endured inside his head with Kyuubi. He had to get out of here! He had to save himself! Why couldn't he move? Why couldn't he scream? Wasn't anyone there?

Then again…why was he so scared? It was only Kaido, a villager. Naruto was a shinobi, and a great one at that. He could handle this, couldn't he? Even if Kaido had some friends with him, Naruto could pummel their arses to hell and back. Though Kaido had once beaten him up real bad in the past, and the fear had stayed with him since, things were different now. The only problem now was that the part of him that was controlling his body didn't seem to think so. He was paralyzed with fear as the trauma and fear came to life in front of his very eyes.

With the pain of the final hit, Naruto felt himself curl up in the corner. He was about to get up again when he felt hands on him. _What now? Aren't they done yet? I don't think I can take much more of this…_

"The fun's only beginning; you don't need to leave just yet," said a voice in his ear. He felt hands crawl down his stomach and start to undue the buckle of his pants and Naruto's mind screamed, begged, and raged for it to stop. Now was the time to start panicking. He had to get away, he had to fight back. He needed help. He couldn't handle this on his own anymore, it was too much. _No! No, please, you can't! Help! Someone help! I don't want this. NO!_

The screams in his mind were relentless even as his body was used and ravaged and filled with so much pain. And for the rest of the night, Naruto once again felt the unbearable pain of having his body vandalized in such a violent manner fill him and heighten the despair inside him.

* * *

**Yes, it's much longer than the prologue, and I hope you guys liked it. I think the next chapter might be slightly longer. As I said before, things will get more interesting in the next chapter, so just be patient. :) In case anyone was wondering, there's a smidgen of fluff in the next chapter, but only if you squint...really hard! Chapter three will also have more of Sasuke's perspectives on things and we'll see what happens to Naruto.**

**Also, in case you people may not have noticed, I'm also currently writing another story...about Christmas. It's also SasuNaru with some ShikaGaa. I thought I'd try it out. It's more of a humor and romance, so check it out if you're in the mood.**

**Again, if you happen to spot and mistakes and typos, please let me know and I'll fix them as soon as I can.  
Keep reviewing people!**

**UPDATE: I must confess that I have not been able to update this fic due to the fact that I have been caught in a handul of academic projects. I do assure you, however, that I will update in the next several days, once everything is put into order so please just be patient a little longer. **


	3. Silence

**Phew! Here's the next chapter everyone! I'm extremely sorry I'm so late. I don't have any excuses. I'm late and that's that. I hope you haven't abandoned this fic!  
This chapter goes a bit slowly I think, but after the next one things start to get more interesting. **

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

It was the middle of the night and the lone moon was high up in the sky, illuminating the sleeping village. It was quiet, not a sound could be heard aside from the trees rustling in the wind. Everyone in the village was in a deep slumber, visiting the land of dreams. Everyone, that is, except Sasuke.

He sat atop the window sill, gazing out the window in silent contemplation. The slight opening of the window carried a breeze into the room and rustled his hair. His porcelain skin glowed in the moonlight and gave him the aura of a supernatural being crawling out of the darkness. His visage donned a curious expression and one could tell he was thinking deeply about a troubling matter.

He turned his head around to look over at the middle of the room. His eyes fell upon the blonde boy sleeping soundly on the bed. Sasuke felt a wide range of emotions rush through him at the sight of his best friend in such a condition. He had spent most of the night thus far trying to figure out who could possibly have done such a thing to Naruto. He had many suspicions, but none of them seemed to feel right.

Being a shinobi, one naturally had many enemies, both inside and outside the village. In Naruto's case, it was worse for he played host to the nine-tailed Kyuubi. He always had people going after the demon or trying to capture the demon's power like the Akatsuki. But…no one had seen anything or felt anything suspicious as of late related to that band of rebels. Orochimaru had been taken care of years ago and none of his followers had the guts to go after the blonde. The village had been neutral in most things for the past several months and so there wasn't any motive for other villages to attack. Even if they did want to, they wouldn't have focused on only one person. No, they would have declared they were coming after Konoha and tried to attack a whole bunch of them at once.

Aside from other villages, there was always the chance of there being some stray shinobi after the Kyuubi's power. Yet, once again that wouldn't be it, because not only had there been no recent threats for the demon's chakra, but it was evident that the fox was still residing in his host.

Turning to face the window again, Sasuke frowned deep in thought. The only other possibility now was of it being someone from inside the village. The only problem was in determining who it was. Naruto hadn't had any of his weapons, so he couldn't have done much damage to whomever it was that had attacked him. He could have used his taijutsu Sasuke tried to reason. Then, upon remembering the alley he had found the blonde, he shook his head, discarding the idea. They alley hadn't looked damaged at all, with the exception of the blood stains. It Naruto had really used taijutsu the place would have been a wreck; the Uchiha knew the blonde's potential.

Of course, there was also the possibility that Naruto had been attacked elsewhere and then been brought to the alley to be discovered…or hidden. Sasuke let out a growl of frustration upon remembering the blood stains once again, as well as the bloody kunai. The incident had definitely taken place in the alley, no doubt about it. But then…what other possibilities were left? Sasuke ran a hand through his hair and looked up at the night sky. The moon shone beautifully in the darkness surrounded by the twinkling stars. The stars reminded the raven of Naruto's sparkling blue eyes that were always full of mirth and laughter.

Sighing, the Uchiha forced himself to get back on track, remembering the initial anger, fear and sickening worry he felt when he had discovered the blonde earlier that night. He had crossed out the possibilities of the culprit being from outside the village. He now had to focus on the Konoha. Closing his eyes, Sasuke thought of all the shinobi who could possibly have anything against Naruto. There were some elders who boldly resented the dobe for his mischievous habits but, in Sasuke's eyes, that wasn't a good enough motive to attack someone. He thought of some of the older shinobi and ANBU members who had hated the boy since his existence because of the Kyuubi. There was a very high probability of it being one of them.

Even so, it didn't feel right to the raven. For one, if it had been them, then the incident wouldn't have been so sloppy. And secondly, they would gladly have just…finished the job. Sasuke shuddered at the thought and felt eternally grateful he had found the boy when he had or else it might have been too late.

Sasuke thought back to the fact that it seemed as though the dobe hadn't put up any resistance. Did that mean it had been a surprise attack? Maybe s surprise attack by someone he knew…and trusted? The Uchiha clenched his fist tight as he thought of the implications of what that meant. Someone had betrayed Naruto! Someone who had initially been a friend was now the enemy. And if the blonde knew them it was highly likely that Sasuke knew them as well. That meant the village was probably in danger from someone on the inside.

The raven glanced over at Naruto again, wishing he would awaken. He desperately wanted to know who it was that had hurt his best friend. He wanted to make sure that Naruto was alright.

Sighing, Sasuke stood up from his place at the window and walked into the bathroom that was connected to the bedroom. He opened the tap and let the water rush out. It was soothing and it relaxed him. He splashed his face with the cool liquid and felt refreshed, the sleep from his eyes disappearing. After doing this several times and thoroughly washing his face, he dried off and returned back to the bedroom.

He was about to take his place by the window once more but stopped mid-step. He looked back over at the still sleeping blonde with curiosity. He thought he had just heard a voice, but the blonde was still in the same position as before – sleeping – and he didn't sense any other chakra signature nearby. He waited and listened for another few moments in the darkness but didn't hear anything else. Assuming it to be a trick of his sleep-deprived mind, he shrugged and sat atop the window sill once again.

Several seconds later, he heard a whimper. His ears perked up instantly and he turned his head around to locate the source of the disturbance. He was surprised when he found out it had come from Naruto. Sakura had said that he wouldn't wake for at least a day so how…? Sasuke decided to ignore that, however, since he had grown accustomed to expecting the unexpected when it came to the dobe.

Upon hearing more whimpers and moans, Sasuke rushed over to Naruto's side. The boy's eyes were shut tight and he had a deep frown on his face as he tried to fight again the obvious nightmare that plagued his mind. The Uchiha looked earnestly and with worry as the blonde started to writhe and twist underneath the sheets.

"No…please…" Naruto whimpered, his words laced with fear and terror. Sweat was now dripping down his forehead and soon enough, his hair was damp with the cold perspiration.

Deciding not to let the dobe suffer any longer, Sasuke tried to wake him.

"Naruto," he said quietly. It didn't work, "Naruto!"

To his dismay, the blonde still hadn't awoken yet. In act, his words had had no effect on the boy whatsoever. Sasuke resorted to shoving the blonde, yet, as he did so he pulled back his arm in shock. Naruto's skin was on burning hot! The Uchiha tried to ignore that as best he could and focused on waking up the blonde again.

"Help…!" Naruto murmured desperately.

"Naruto," Sasuke said soothingly as he gently tried to shove the blonde awake. "It's okay, I'm here. Wake up dobe, you're alright."

To his surprise and dismay, Naruto shied away from the touch and pushed him away. His nails, which were slightly sharper than usual scratched at the raven's hand. Sasuke hissed in pain and pulled away, cradling his injured hand. He looked down and noticed that there was now blood streaming down his fingers. It wasn't much, but it still shocked him. _What was going on?_

"Go away…I don't want…ugh…" the blonde continued to writhe under the sheets. "No…please…just kill me…"

Sasuke whipped his head up at hearing this. Was Naruto revisiting the incident in his nightmare? How bad had it been that Naruto was begging for _death_? He could hear the despair dripping off of Naruto's words and it sent pangs of worry and dread to Sasuke's heart. He reached over to the blonde and shook him hard whilst calling out his name, urging him to wake up.

"Naruto! Dobe, wake up!" there was almost an edge of panic in the raven's voice. He could now see tears streaming down Naruto's contorted face. "C'mon Naruto! Naruto!"

It was several minutes before Sasuke was knocked over as the blonde sat bolt upright and let out a blood curling scream. His voice was laced his absolute terror as he clutched his head and doubled over in pain.

"N-Naruto," Sasuke managed to say. He got up and quickly turned on the light. The other ninja flinched at the sudden brightness and was now panting hard and looking around, frantically trying to find out where he was.

The raven got up and stopped beside the dobe. Instantly, upon seeing the figure, Naruto yelled out and backed in fear. "N-no! Go away! Don't touch me!"

Clearly, the boy was hysterical; he wasn't in the right mind since the experience of the nightmare was still fresh. As the Uchiha gazed into the terror stricken face of his best friend, he couldn't help but look down at his feet, trying not to make eyes-contact. Guilt spread through him instantly and his face donned a distressed expression.

"Naruto," Sasuke said quietly and he could feel the dobe flinch, "it's me, Sasuke."

"Don't lie," his voice was weak but harsh, "you can't fool me like that! I may be a monster, but I'm not stupid."

"No, Naruto," he stepped closer. "Calm down, you're not a monster-"

"D-don't touch me!" he frantically moved towards the opposite side of the large bed, putting as much distance between them as he could.

"Naruto," Sasuke said gently, "you're hallucinating. Look at me: who am I?"

There was a silence that followed the raven's words ad it was several moments before Sasuke saw the blonde's innocent eyes widen in comprehension. The Uchiha gazed into his eyes intently and patiently waited for the other to speak.

"S-Sasuke?" his voice was strained. He slowly relaxed as he took in his surrounding and realized he was in the Uchiha's bedroom.

"Yeah, Naruto," Sasuke walked over to the blonde and pulled him close into a warm embrace. He was careful to avoid touching the blonde's injuries. "Thank God you're awake. Are you okay?"

Naruto nodded slowly, stiff from the unexpected hug, and shuffled closer to the raven. He felt safer somehow and it eased a lot off his mind temporarily. Even this small movement, the Uchiha noticed, caused the blonde to wince in pain. The raven could tell he was still on edge but it was better than before.

"What happened?" asked the blonde.

"You were having a nightmare," the Uchiha replied; he didn't know what else to say but the truth.

"Oh," Naruto had his eyes downcast, not wanted to make eye-contact with the other ninja. "Sorry."

Sasuke was slightly taken aback by this. He didn't see why there was any reason to apologize. "There's no need for an apology."

The blonde didn't reply, choosing to stay silent instead. Tentatively, Sasuke brought his hand up and started to gently run a hand through the boy's hair. This seemed to calm the dobe down, so he continued.

Sasuke desperately wanted to bombard the blonde with the millions of questions running through his mind, but he kept silent. He hoped the blonde hadn't noticed the scratch on his hand. They stayed like that for a while before he decided to speak of something else to make the blonde feel more at ease. It was that he was still shaken up by the whole ordeal. "Are you hungry?"

Naruto shook his head sharply and had to bite his lip to prevent himself from letting out a gasp of pain. Everything hurt so much!

The raven felt him stiffen and he looked down with a calculating gaze. "Where does it hurt?"

"Nothing hurts," he replied softly.

Sasuke watched him suspiciously but let it go; deciding to ask again later.

"Well," he was unsure of how to continue, "You should, um, get some rest. You have a pretty high fever."

All he wanted was to whisper sweet things to the blonde and tell him that everything would by okay. He wanted to…but he couldn't. For all he knew, it would just freak the blonde out again to see him behaving so differently. He knew the blonde would mistake his love for pity.

Naruto nodded once again and silently but cautiously lay down on the bed, making sure not to move too much in case of brining his injures to life once again. He still refused to make eye-contact with the raven.

Somewhat satisfied, Sasuke stood up from his position on the side of the bed and decided to tuck the blonde in properly. As soon as he got close enough, Naruto flinched violently and shied away from the touch, stiff as a board. The Uchiha ignored it as best he could and reminded himself that he would question the blonde in the morning; now was not the time.

Before exiting the bedroom, he turned off the light and said, "I'll, um, wake up you up in a couple of hours for breakfast, okay?"

"'Kay," came the barely audible reply. "Thank you."

Sasuke smiled weakly and closed the door behind him as he left. Outside the door, Sasuke paused and took a deep breath. Why hadn't he been able to talk to him and ask him what had happened? He had always known he was never the most social person…but he could have at least talked to the dobe about everything. The only good thing that came out of this was that he knew that Naruto was okay and that at the moment he was getting the rest he deserved.

* * *

Naruto lay there with his eyes with eyes open. His once shining blue eyes were now dull and lifeless. His breathing was slow and heavy and, other than the rise and fall of his chest, he was completely still and silent.

Everything hurt; outside and inside. His body ached and there was now a sharp pain pulsing along his back and behind. It was clear that both Sasuke and Sakura had worked to bandage him up; he had known them long enough to recognize their work. He also noticed that neither of them had done anything to near his pelvis for which was grateful for. He didn't know what would happen if they found out that he had been…_raped_.

Naruto closed his eyes as a tear rolled down his cheeks. _He had been raped._ By some villagers. He hadn't even been able to save himself from their hideous actions. He was supposed to be strong, that's what he worked to become. How could he have let them do that to him? How low could he get? If it was actually possible for some village boys to gang up on him and do _that_, then he really was pathetic. And now…he was filthy. He was a filthy pathetic monster hated by the entire village. Everyone wanted him dead. His whole life so far had been a waste. He didn't deserve any of the friends he had. They probably only put up with him because of Tsunade.

And Sasuke…Naruto thought back to some moments ago when he was safe within Sasuke's arms. That had felt like heaven1 Oh, how he wished could spill his heart out to the raven! He wished it, but he couldn't possibly do that. Sasuke would hate him for sure. He would then be known as the filthy, pathetic and _gay_ monster that deserved to die for condemning the village to the threat of being annihilated by the fox demon.

Naruto let out a whimper as he felt despair take over his heart. He was useless…worthless…

He thought back to the conversation he had had with Kyuubi. The demon was right. This whole incident was painful and traumatic. Kyuubi had been right to keep the memories from him. And now, it was too late for them to be taken back. If only had had listened to the demon in the first place. This was another thing to add to Konoha's list of reasons to kill him; his stubborn stupidity.

Suddenly, Naruto heard a shuffling noise outside the door to the room. It was the sound of approaching footsteps. He quickly wiped away his tears – violently wincing at the pain of the sudden movement – and closed his eyes to feign sleep.

He heard the door creak up and felt the light from the corridor spill across his face. The door closed and he heard footsteps approaching him. He tried his best not to flinch as a hand touched his forehead. _It must be Sasuke_, Naruto reasoned.

The hand was lifted and Naruto heard the clinking of ice in water. The next thing he knew, there was a cold sensation atop his forehead. It felt so good, so soothing. It took a lot for him not to moan out it relief, but he was sure his expression must have changed because he heard Sasuke say something about him being a dobe. It was several minutes later that he heard the raven get up again and exit the room. _That was a quick visit_, Naruto thought. Even so, he was thankful to be alone once more. He still had to sort out his thoughts.

He could still feel the dull ache lining his back and pelvis. He didn't want to know how bad it would get if he had to get up any time soon. It had already taken a lot of him when he first awoke from that god awful stroll down memory lane. It was surprising that he hadn't screamed in agony…but then again, he hadn't been in the right state-of-mind. The dobe shuddered, remembering what was going through his mind at the time. He never wanted to see Kaido or his friends ever again. The mere thought of meeting him sent chills down his spine.

Naruto wondered what would happen if anyone found out about all of this. Surely they would shun him as the villagers had done to him all his life. This thought caused the blonde's eyes to brim with tears once again. If…if Sasuke ever found out, Naruto was sure he wouldn't be able to cope with any of it. At least for now, his secret – the fact that he was the filthiest person in Konoha – would be safe. No one would need to know and he could carry on as best as possible. Granted, he doubted he would ever be able to look himself in the mirror, and it would take a while for him to get rid of the flinching, but it would all work out in the end, wouldn't it?

Naruto shut his eyes tighter and felt the tears roll down his cheeks only to dampen the pillow beneath him. It was with the continuous tears streaming down his face that the blonde fell into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

Sasuke squinted in the bright light of the sun that streamed in from the window across from him. He groaned and rubbed his eyes, his mind and body still plagued with sleep. Opening his eyes, he found himself sprawled across the couch. Why was he on the couch?

"Ugh," he grunted and sat up. Looking around, he located the clock and discovered it was seven in the morning. Why was he so stiff and tired? He was about to get up and head back to his room to get some more shut-eye but spotted Naruto's torn and bloody shirt laying nearby. What-?

_Naruto!_ Sasuke's mind went frantic, remembering the events of the night before. That's right, he thought, Naruto's here. He recalled visiting the sleeping blonde – whom he knew hadn't been sleeping – placing a cold towel on the blonde's forehead to help with the fever. After that, he had come back and taken a seat on the couch, thinking about all that had happened. He must have fallen asleep at some point.

Raking a hand through his hair, the raven stood up and took a stretch, relieving his muscles of the stiffness. He then walked over to where the dobe's abandoned shirt lay and threw it into the trash. He didn't want any more reminders of the night before.

First thing's first, he decided, walking over to the bedroom. Quietly, he opened the door and looked over at the bed. The blonde was still sleeping soundly. For this, he was thankful; the dobe really needed some rest. Sasuke walked in silently and took the cloth from the boy's forehead. Feeling the skin beneath the messy blonde locks, he was relieved to find it was much cooler than before. It wasn't completely back to normal temperature yet, but he was glad it was a sign that he was getting better.

Deciding to let the boy sleep for a little longer before the Hokage was scheduled to come, he left the room and closed the door behind him. He felt an awful taste at the back of his mouth and decided he should clean himself up a bit.

Thirty minutes later and Sasuke found himself staring at his reflection in the mirror. He could see the fatigue in his eyes from the night before. His expression was sullen but he could see in the eyes that stared back at him the anger hiding beneath the surface. He could feel the cold fury pumping through his veins.

He looked down at his hands which were now clenched into fists. The raven felt the urge to hit something, to hear the pain he would cause at cracking someone's jaw. He raised his fist and was about to lash out at the wall at his pent-up frustration but, before he could make contact, he heard a loud banging followed by some incoherent yelling.

Looking down at his raised fist, he hesitated. He really wanted to get rid of all his pent up frustration, but at the same time he knew that he had to hold it in for Naruto's sake. Opening the door, he stepped out into the corridor and calmly made his way to the front door. Under no circumstances would he let the Hokage get the best of him.

"Uchiha, you brat, open this door right now before I knock it down!" Tsunade yelled from the other side of the closed door.

Taking a deep breath, Sasuke opened the door to reveal a very angry looking Tsunade whom he was sure had been about to break into his house. He congratulated himself for the good timing.

The blonde woman took one look at him and pushed him aside, barging into the room.

"Damn brat," she muttered as she looked around, "keeps me waiting…Who does he think he is? It's bad enough that I have to come here in the first place."

After several minutes of cursing and muttering, her anger dissipated and she turned to face him once again, swinging her medical supply bag in sway with her body. Sasuke stood in the same spot as before, glaring at her, in front of the now closed front door.

"Where is he?" she asked, her voice loud with annoyance.

Without a word, Sasuke stepped around her and led the way to the blonde's room. The Hokage had arrived earlier than expected and he hadn't gotten a chance to tell the dobe about it. Before opening the door to the bedroom, he turned around to face her and spoke firmly. "Let me go in first and fill him in on what's going on."

Tsunade stopped before he opened the door, her hand resting on his shoulder. "Sakura told me he wouldn't be up for another day at least."

"He's stronger than you think," the raven answered. "Most of the injuries are healed now thanks to the jinchuuriki. But it was a nightmare that woke him up."

* * *

Naruto woke up, startled, as he heard voices approaching. It sounded like Tsunade-baa-chan and Sasuke and it terrified him. If they were here for the reasons he thought they were here for then he was in trouble. He wasn't ready for this. He was sure Tsunade was there to check on his injuries and make sure he was okay since that was medical procedure after a shinobi was injured. But he couldn't have that. Sakura had already cleaned up most of the filth from the night before and he had risked her finding out about the…incident. Luckily, she had respectfully left certain areas alone.

He gulped. There was no way he would be able to live with himself if Tsunade found out about it all. He couldn't have her touch him; he _wouldn't_ let her. Although his body still ached near his nether regions, he would rather deal with the pain than face humiliation and rejection.

He was sure he would become even more of an outcast if the events of the previous night came to light. It already hurt him enough to have the majority of the villagers hate him, and if his friends turned his back on him then…No! He wouldn't let that happen! He wouldn't let any of this get out! He would wash away the filth and become clean once again. But…the pain still hurt. It was like a scar across his heart, a scar that could never be healed.

Sinking deeper into the bed upon which he lay, Naruto took several deep breaths, trying to calm down and prepare for what was to come. He wasn't given much time, however, before the door was opened slowly and he heard someone enter the room. His eyes were closed as he once again pretended to be asleep.

"Naruto," it was Sasuke. He laid a gentle hand on Naruto's back, pushing him gently to wake him up. Naruto barely controlled himself from flinching violently at the unexpected touch.

The blonde opened his eyes slowly and discovered the Uchiha leaning over him by the side of the bed. He looked worried and concerned; something was rare in the eyes of an Uchiha.

"How are you feeling?" he asked. He looked the dobe in eye and helped the boy to sit up, aware of the pain that the boy tried to hide.

"Fine," Naruto lied. The truth was that he was in pain, both physically and emotionally.

Sasuke was silent for a while as he gazed into the blue orbs, contemplating whether or not to questions the boy's response. He decided not to. Instead, he sat down at the edge of the bed and looked at the blonde once more.

"I didn't tell you this earlier but Sakura came here last night," he started. "I told her about finding you and the awful state you were in. So, of course, she decided to come over and take a look at you."

Naruto nodded, waiting for the raven to continue.

"So, she cleaned you up as best she could and made sure everything was okay. We wanted to make sure you were okay and speed up Kyuubi's healing."

"Yeah, I figured that's what happened judging by the bandages when I woke up," Naruto said in monotone.

Sasuke nodded and continued, "Well, anyways, Hokage-sama is here now and wanted to look you over again to make sure everything's okay."

"I'm fine now," Naruto answered immediately.

"Yes, and just as an extra precaution, she wants to see for herself."

"No," Naruto cried out, "it's okay! Nothing hurts; I'm fine now!"

"Then it shouldn't take long for her to leave," Sasuke offered. He watched the blonde start to panic and wondered why he was so against having that old hag take a look at him. It _was_ for his own good, after all.

Naruto shook his head sharply and once again tried to convince the raven that he was indeed okay. "Really, there's no need! Kyuubi does his job just fine and-"

"What happened yesterday, Naruto?" Sasuke asked him suddenly, which effectively silenced the blonde's fruitless efforts.

Naruto's eyes widened and he looked down at his hands with which he clutch the sheets. He instantly recalled the memories of the night before and felt the pain in his groin magnify drastically. The hands…the voices…the pain and the…_touches_. He shivered involuntarily, and did his best to keep oncoming tears at bay. He hands clutched the sheets with a fierce grip and he clenched his jaw so as not to groan out in pain.

"Who did this to you?" Sasuke's voice penetrated through the memories. It was laced with anger and Naruto could tell he wanted revenge.

"I…" Naruto faltered, not sure what to say. There was no way he would reveal anything but he knew Sasuke wouldn't be satisfied until he got an answer. What could he say?

Before he could continue with his frantic thoughts, the door opened violently, causing the blonde to jump in surprise and then wince at the pain. Tsunade barged in and walked up to the bed. "How long did you intend to keep me waiting, Uchiha?"

She put her bag down next to her and crossed her arms over her chest. She was clearly in a bad mood.

"Ah! Tsunade-baa-chan!" Naruto ducked beneath the covers, trying to get away from the woman's wrath.

The raven stood up calmly and looked back at her, annoyed at the interruption. He had almost been able to get an answer from the dobe. "He says he's fine."

Tsunade looked from the Uchiha back to the still cowering blonde. "He's not fine until I say so!"

Naruto peeked out from under the covers and looked defiantly at the older woman, though he remained silent.

The Hokage looked at the blonde curiously before going into her bag and pulling out various instruments. Sasuke stood back, and let the scenario unfold before him.

Naruto was scared, downright terrified. He wanted to say something and argue back against the Hokage's predicted actions, but couldn't find his voice. He could feel himself shake quietly under the sheets and hoped that Sasuke hadn't noticed anything.

Just as Tsunade was about to touch him with her chakra powered hand, he flinched violently and ducked under the covers, retreating to farthest corner of the bed. He closed his eyes and tried to calm down from the resurfacing memories of the previous nights events. Looking down at his hands in the obstructed light, he could see the sweat glistening on his palms. His heart beat at a frantic rate and he took several deep breaths before he finally calmed down enough to be able to sit still without shaking.

"Naruto!" Tsunade cried out, shocked at the blonde's actions. Naruto could hear the worry and concern in her voice but couldn't find the courage to face her.

Instead, he mumbled out, "I said I was fine. You don't have to be here, Hokage-sama."

The honorific in the name, Naruto was sure, had been the reason for the woman's abrupt silence.

"Dobe," Sasuke spoke up, "we just want to make sure everything's okay. Stop acting like the dobe we know you are and come out."

The blonde shinobi winced at the Uchiha's cold tone. He knew he was being childish – a dobe, as Sasuke but it – but there was no way he could have Tsunade find out about the ordeal. Never. He would die before the truth of the _incident_ came to light.

"Naruto," Tsunade said gently. She laid a hand on boy's covered head. He tried not to flinch again but failed miserably. "You're not fine. Something happened last night and you're hurt. That damn Kyuubi may have healed your most obvious wounds, but I can tell you're still hurting."

Not getting a response from the boy, she continued as calmly as she could, despite the worry that she felt.

"Someone hurt you really badly, that much is obvious, and in order to make sure they don't do this again, to you or anyone else, we need to know why that are. But," she took a deep breath and slowly pulled down the covers, revealing the quivering shinobi underneath, "first we need to make sure _you_ are okay. Don't pretend you're not, because all three of us here know that's not true. I saw your clothes from yesterday. That's clear evidence to the amount of damage that was done to you."

Sasuke's ears perked up upon hearing that the woman saw the dobe's shirt. He had discarded that right when had woken up this morning. How had she…?

As though reading the raven's mind, Tsunade looked over at him and spoke. "Really, Sasuke, did you honestly think that by throwing it in the trash that you could get rid of it so easily? I thought you were smarter than that. I could smell the stench of the blood as soon as I stepped inside."

The raven didn't let his stoic expression fall. Uchiha's didn't let that happen. But how could he have been so stupid? He knew better than that! He blamed the worry and concern that had taken over him since the moment he laid eyes on the blonde's unconscious body.

"Well," Tsunade sighed, turning back to look at the boy on the bed. She looked into his eyes in silence, deciding what to do next. She let her gaze travel to the window covered by the curtains on the opposite side of the bed. "I have a proposition for you."

Both Naruto's and Sasuke's heads turned to look at her, Naruto's in fearful anticipation and Sasuke's in curiosity. They waited silently as she took her time before speaking.

"If it matters that much to you, I won't give you a personal check-up, but," she paused and looked Naruto in the eye, her amber orbs alight with fire, "you'll be staying at the hospital until you're completely healed"

Sasuke nodded his head minutely, seeming to agree with the Hokage's condition. Although he would rather Naruto not go to the hospital, it was better for the boy to heal properly and on his own terms.

Naruto's head travelled down to his hands once again as he took in the Hokage's words. He hated staying at the hospital. The atmosphere there was so depressing and he didn't have much freedom. However, if it meant that he wouldn't have to get a check-up, then it was worth it. It was the only way that his secret would stay hidden and Tsunade would be satisfied. He looked over at the raven and to his surprise, found that the Uchiha approved of Tsunade's compromise.

Turning to face the woman he spoke without gaining eye contact. "When will be able to go back to training?"

"Like I said, as soon as you're healed."

Frustrated, Naruto scrunched up the sheet covers with his fists, "I already told you I'm healed!"

"You're not healed until I say you are!" Tsunade barked, crossing her arms and looking over the blonde boy with hardened glare. Her tone of voice ended all further arguments.

Gathering her belongings back into her bag, she straightened up and turned to leave the room. She paused at the door and spoke once more before leaving. "I'll see you two at the hospital this afternoon at two o'clock sharp."

* * *

**Well, what did you think? Again, please inform me of any errors I may have made and I'll correct them as soon as possible. I believe the next chapter will take me just as long as this one did. In case you didn't know, I'm also writing another SasuNaru Christmas fic (even though it's past Christmas time), so I've been busy with that one as well. **

**Please keep reading and be patient. I promise you things get more interesting from the next chapter. What can possible happen at a _public_ hospital? **

**Reviews are greatly appreciated ;)**


	4. A Special Visit

**Hey everyone! I'm really sorry about the abnormally late update! Gomenasai! **  
**But, as promised, I did update, so voila! **

**I would like to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far and have been patient with me. **  
**ENJOY!**

* * *

It was nearly a week later that Naruto found himself sitting atop the hospital bed gazing out the window. His face donned a sullen expression as he watched the kids playing down below. Although he would have liked to be outside as well, he was stuck inside. It had been like this for five days and now he was growing irritated. He wasn't the type of person to stay inside and do nothing.

But he knew it was better this way because he was…scared. He wouldn't dare admit it aloud, but it was true. He woke up each morning have relived that same nightmare and he felt uneasy whenever he was left alone. Yet at the same time he wanted to be left alone. He feared that someone would find out. And if they did, it would surely be the end of him.

At first, he had thought his fear was of Kaido coming back to finish the job. But he soon realized that Kaido wasn't stupid enough to come after him while there were Shinobi stationed outside his door at all times. Although Tsunade had said it was to make sure he couldn't escape, Naruto knew it was an extra precaution in case he was attacked again. His lips curled into a smile as he thought of the Hokage worrying over him.

Glancing at the clock, he realized it was almost time for Sasuke's visit. He always came to give Naruto some company after he was done training. The blonde had noticed a very subtle change in the Uchiha's behaviour. He figured it was because the raven got a little shaken up after seeing Naruto in such a condition the week before. After all, why else had been more open with him?

Although…it could all be Tsunade's plan to get Naruto to talk about it, which he had refrained from doing thus far. Whenever the topic came up, he would stay silent and ignore everyone. It was bad enough having to deal with it during his nightmares – he was even scared to fall asleep. He didn't want to face it in reality either.

Reality…what was reality? Everything seemed so unreal, as though he were in another dimension. It was a place known to him as being filled with nothing but pain. In the past week, his life had changed drastically. Prior to the incident, his days were filled with dread whenever he faced the villagers. It was misery that shadowed him wherever he went. Now it had turned utterly unbearable. He was scared; scared of everyone. He flinched at the slightest disturbance and his heart was always in panic. It was probably better just to end –

_Knock knock._

Naruto snapped back to attention and flinched at the sudden noise. "C-come in."

He knew it was Sasuke, but it still unnerved him nonetheless.

"Hey," the raven said as he entered. "How're you feeling?"

He closed the door behind him and took a seat at Naruto's side.

"I'm fine," he replied. "I just wish I could get out of this place. I hope Tsunade-baa-chan doesn't plan on keeping me here forever!"

Sasuke smirked at the blonde's whine. "You know it's for your own good. Besides, it's your fault for being such as lousy Shinobi."

"Teme! You're not supposed to say mean things to hospital patients!"

"You just said you're feeling fine, so I can say whatever I want."

Naruto was at a loss for words and so he resorted to just grumbling to himself. Although he appeared to be annoyed by the Uchiha's presence, he was eternally grateful for the company. Spending time with Sasuke always made him feel better. Plus, Sasuke always brought him –

"Here," Sasuke said right on cue. He took out a couple of cartons of food from the bad he brought in.

"Oh, that smells like heaven! I hate hospital food!" Naruto said as he grabbed the carton containing ramen from the raven's clutches.

"Remember dobe, you're paying me back for all this when you get out of here."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever!" Just let me eat!" And with that, the blonde happily started to stuff his mouth with ramen.

Usually, the raven reprimanded him for eating it, but since he had started to be more open lately, he agreed to sneak in some ramen for the blonde.

"Sho, 'ow wuz trenning?" he asked, with his mouth stuffed.

"Dobe, don't talk with your mouth full!" Sasuke exclaimed. "Nothing special happened, just the usual."

This was a lie. In truth, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi hadn't been training at all. As of late, they had been spending their time trying to find out who had hurt Naruto. They had tried asking the blonde many times, but every time the topic came up, he would go completely silent and there was always a sharp fear in his eyes. It had now become taboo to mention anything about it around Naruto. Only Tsunade-san dared to confront the dobe about the subject. She had made it her mission to find out the truth about everything. She had told team seven that she had a theory of what exactly had happened to him, but she wouldn't say it. She had even refrained from telling Sakura or Shizune. Sasuke had only believed that Naruto had been stunned and then beaten up, but now he knew there was clearly something else that had taken place as well. But…what else?

"..ke! Sasuke!"

Suddenly, the raven was snapped out of his reverie. "Huh?"

"What were you thinking about? I've been calling your name for _ages_!" Naruto pouted, crossing his arms.

"It's nothing. Your tiny brain wouldn't be able to comprehend it," Sasuke said, smirking.

"I'm going to ignore that…this is just to good!" Naruto sighed in contentment as he took another mouthful of ramen.

"We have a mission coming up soon, so you better be out of here by then," the raven informed him.

"Yeah, that old hag better let me out soon! She won't even let me leave this room! I want to train with you guys!"

"Maybe I'll go talk to her later in the afternoon."

"That'd be great, maybe she'll actually listen to _you_."

"Are you sure it doesn't hurt anywhere? It's only been a week…"

"I told you, I'm fine!" Naruto pout aside his now empty carton of ramen and slid his legs over the side of the bed. "Look, I'll show you."

Stepping down, he shivered as his feet touched the cold floor. He walked over to the window and opened it, letting the cool breeze refresh him. Turning around, he gave Sasuke a wide grin, his hair rustling lightly.

It was still slightly painful for him to walk since the pain in his pelvis hadn't completely dissipated yet. He hoped Sasuke hadn't noticed the small limp in his steps.

"Now watch this!" He put his hands together and concentrated on his chakra. Suddenly, with several _pops_, the small room was filled dozens of Naruto doppelgangers.

Sasuke's face stayed impassive through-out the display. The multiple doppelgangers didn't impress him; he knew Naruto's full potential. Rather than being amazed, he was worried. Naruto was _not_ fine. If the dobe thought he could prove he was well by doing something as effortless as _that_, then there was clearly something still wrong. Not only that, but as he finished with the jutsu and made his way back to the bed, Sasuke noticed the blonde was faintly out-of-breath, no matter how well he tried to hide it.

"So, now you can convince baa-chan that I'm fine, right?" The blonde looked at him expectedly.

The Uchiha only gave a stiff nod.

"Great! So, what's this mission all about anyway? It better be something exciting!"

Before the raven could respond, there was a knock on the door. The person on the other side opened the door and poked their head inside. It was Shizune.

"Um, Hokage-sama has called for us, Sasuke."

The raven nodded and stood up. Before leaving however, he pointed towards the other carton of food that he had pout on the bedside table earlier.

"There's more food in there," he told Naruto. With that, he walked out, past Shizune.

"Sorry Naruto, Tsunade-sama called me out, too, so I'll tell Sakura to come take over my post. And don't worry; I'll Sasuke to come back as soon as we're done." She smiled and left, closing the door behind her and leaving the blonde alone once again.

Alone…

Naruto shuddered. Being alone always upset him. Before it was always because of the despair he felt that no one cared about him. But it was different now. Thing had changed. Being alone terrified him now. He was scared of what would happen when he was alone. There was always that constant fear of there being a repeat of…that day.

Of course, he knew that couldn't happen. He was safe here. He had Sakura, and Kakashi, and Tsunade and most importantly Sasuke looking after him.

Even so…he shuddered despite his best efforts.

There was a sudden knock on the door again and Naruto heard Sakura's voice speaking from the other side, "Hey Naruto, I'm coming in now."

This was how it was. Whoever wanted to come in when he was alone had to knock before coming in. It was just so that he was always prepared, since he had developed a habit of flinching at even the most miniscule noise or movement.

"'Kay," he replied. Before she came in, he hastily hid the other carton of ramen. He knew the medinin would make him go deaf if she found out he was eating ramen.

"How're you feeling?" she asked, her face frowned in concern.

"Fine! I'm fine! Why won't anyone listen?" Naruto exclaimed.

Sakura rolled her eyes and took Sasuke's eat next to the blonde.

"Baka, that's what you always say! And then you'll be back in here the next week."

Naruto gave a sheepish grin. It was true, he visited the hospital much too often for comfort.

"You must be bored being in here all the time. And I'm surprised you've survived this long without stuffing your face with ramen!" She smiled, keeping the conversation light.

"Yeah…well, Sasuke wouldn't give in to sneaking some in."

_Whack!_

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Idiot! Don't take me for a fool! I know you've been eating nothing but ramen all week!"

"Then why did you say that?"

"To see if you'd lie or not. I was hoping you wouldn't, but I guess I was wrong!" She crossed her arms and looked down at him with a grim frown on her face.

"Damn it, you women and your damn mind games…" Naruto muttered, still rubbing his head.

"Anyways, I'll be standing in the corridor, just call if you need me." And with that, she turned around and left, closing the door behind her.

Naruto sat there in silence once again, wondering how long it would be until Sasuke came back.

He looked over at the other carton of ramen that could be seen from its hiding place. At any other time, he would have grabbed it and emptied it into his stomach in record time. But for some reason, he had lost his appetite.

A chill travelled down his spine; a bad omen.

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and tried to calm down. He couldn't stop the sudden frantic beating of his heart. He looked out the window and tried to occupy his mind with something else. It didn't work. He knew there something wasn't right. His eyes widened when the thought of Kaido's presence entered his mind.

He let out a frustrated growl and clutched the sheets so his knuckles turned white. But inside…he was petrified.

"S-Sakura!" he called out to the kunoichi outside the door.

The door burst open and she came rushing to his side, her eyes showing her concern. "What happened? Is something wrong?"

She walked over to the window after noticing his pale face and looked outside, looking for anything suspicious.

"I don't know…I feel sick," he hugged his knees and groaned, trying to get rid of the foreboding feeling that wouldn't leave him.

"Does it hurt anywhere?" Sakura asked as she walked over his side again and tentatively laid a hand on his shoulder.

He couldn't help it, he flinched violently and distanced himself from her touch. "S-sorry…you startled me."

He looked up and saw the worry and concern that was emanating from her. At this, he felt the guilt rise in his chest for having to cause her distress. He couldn't bear to continue looking into those loving eyes. It only made him feel more pathetic at not being able to keep one of his closest friends from fretting over him.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" she asked gently,. She sat down at the edge of the bed and waited patiently for his reply.

And he couldn't help but answer back with a shudder, "I've got a feeling something's going to happen…something bad."

"You're safe here Naruto, nothing bad is going to happen," she tried to reassure him. "You've suffered enough."

The blonde stayed silent, finally starting to calm down, if only slightly. She was right, he told himself, he was safe here. He was under constant surveillance and was surrounded by people who cared for him.

Looking to the side he once again noticed the carton of ramen that was quickly getting cold. He didn't want to trouble Sakura anymore. She had helped him countless times already. He didn't want to be a bother any longer.

'I think I ate too much ramen," he moaned, clutching his stomach. This was sure to do it, he thought.

"Baka!" She stood up, fuming. "That's why we always tell you not to eat so much ramen! This is what you get for being a pig!"

"But Sakura!" he whined, holding off the ominous feeling as best as he could. "I can't help it!"

"That doesn't matter! It's unhealthy and then you end up like _this_!" She pointed at him.

"But Sakura--!"

"No buts! I'm taking this back to Sasuke right now and--" she paused in the middle of stealing of leftover ramen. There was a knock on the door.

"Come in," the blonde growled. He shuddered involuntarily. He had a bad feeling about whoever was behind the door. They didn't come inside.

"Sakura-san, Hokage-sama has requested for you," said the voice. It was a male.

"Y-yes, okay." She gave Naruto a hard glare and walked out, taking the ramen with her.

Naruto watched her go with dread, and couldn't help the shiver that ran down his spine when the door closed behind her. First Sasuke, now Sakura. And he had a bad feeling about the person outside the door. He clutched the sheets harder and closed his eyes. Not a minute passed by before his mind was plagued with images from his nightmares. He bit his lip to keep himself from crying out in horror.

Opening his eyes he found that he was trembling. He brought his knees up to his chest and hugged them; a feeble attempt at comforting himself. He heard some muffled voices outside the door and then some urgent whispers.

"Well well well," said a voice close to his ear.

This caught him completely off guard and he jerked away violently and yelled out in terror. His heart beat frantically and his hair was already damp with sweat. He huddled on the edge of the bed and tried to locate the source of the noise.

What – or, rather _whom_ – he saw nearly made him want to jump out the window. And he would have if it weren't for the fact that he couldn't move. Fear had taken over him.

Standing beside his bed glaring at him maliciously was none other than _him_. _Kaido_.

Noticing the horror in the blonde's eyes, the man smirked. Naruto shuffled back even more so that was nearly about to fall off the edge.

"Not going to fight back?" the tone of the voice was mockingly innocent.

The blonde tried to answer back but he had lost voice. He was too much in shock to be able to do anything, his eyes wide in utter horror. This was just like his nightmares where Kaido came back to put an end to his existence once and for all.

"This is more like it. This is how it should be," Kaido said, looking smug. And he leaned over the bed, brining his face closer to the blonde's, "the fox cowering down to us. It should never have been allowed to live in the first place, that damn bastard. Now they'll be thanking me like the hero I am for finally ridding them of you."

Naruto's eyes widened even more and he quickly got off the bed, ignoring the dull pain that travelled up his spine, and put as much distance between them as was possible in the small room. He back up cautiously until his back hit the window, and he was trapped.

Kaido took this opportunity to walk around the bed, his smirk getting wider.

"Get away from me!" Naruto shouted surprised at the confidence in his voice despite what he was feeling on the inside.

"Do you know what this is?" Kaido asked, ignoring the blonde and bringing his hands forward from behind his back. He as holding a small vile filled with a liquid that looked like water.

"This," he continued without waiting for the blonde's reply, "is a specially made lethal poison made by my grandmother. It's undetectable once it's in your system."

This new revelation caused the blonde to stiffen. This wasn't happening. He was about to call for help but was interrupted once again by Kaido's grating voice.

"There's no use in screaming. I have people posted in all the vital places in this hospital. You see," Kaido started again, and stepped forward so that he was merely a foot away from the blonde, "after we dealt with you last time, we thought you'd finally disappeared. But, when we came back to get rid of your leftovers, you were gone. I thought you'd come back for revenge but I can clearly see that you're too pathetic and weak to ever do that. So, I've come to make a deal with you."

His eyes gleamed with malicious intent. He put his hand out to caress the boy's cheek but Naruto pushed him away. Although he was dead terrified of the man before him, he would fight back if it made sure he would be safe from his touch.

"W-what deal?" he asked, trying desperately to stop his violent trembling, but failing miserably.

Kaido chuckled, his voice revealing the evil lurking underneath. "If you keep you mouth shut, I promise not to let this accidentally reach your closest friend, the Uchiha. And let me assure you this isn't your everyday sort of poison. It works slowly but its very lethal. It will slowly kill your friend in the most agonizing way. And the only existing cure for it will take weeks to make, by which time your friend will be long gone."

"No," Naruto breathed, his heart filling with dread. If anything happened to Sasuke…he wouldn't be able to live. He began to whimper at the image of a dead Sasuke floating through his mind. "No…not Sasuke…"

A satisfied grin spread across the other's face. "So, if you don't want to be the cause of his _unfortunate_ death, then you'll continue to keep your mouth shut. And," his eyes darkened, "you'll do as I say."

"W-what? What do you m-mean by that?" Naruto questioned fearfully.

At this, Kaido took one last step forward so that he and the blonde were just a hair's breadth apart. He ignored the way the blonde flinched back in repulsion.

"No, please," Naruto gasped as the man towered over him, his hand on the window just above his shoulder. "G-get away. Don't touch me!"

He tried to push back, but to no avail. When had his strength left him?

He closed his eyes and turned as stiff as a board when a hand rested on his hips. Memories flooded his mind and all he wanted to do was escape, to run away. But—

"If you don't do as I say, then," he held up the small vile in his other hand. The unspoken threat worked instantly. The blonde's eyes widened even more and he viewed the artefact with apprehension.

The hand that was once above his shoulder slipped down behind him, grasping firmly. And Naruto cried out loud, both from pain and from the despised touch of his hand. He pushed the young man back but was quickly overpowered. Desperately, he tried to hit him, to push him away, but he was too weak. The memories from the last time were resurfacing once again.

After safely putting the vile away, Kaido rested his hands on the blonde's shoulders. He made sure to feel up the other parts of the boy as he did so. Naruto's eyes were closed once more at the touch of Kaido's disgusting fingers. The pressure on his shoulders got stronger, like it was weighing him down.

"On your knees," Kaido commanded.

Naruto's eyes shot open at these three words. _Never again_, he had told himself. Never again would he dirty himself like he had before. But…

He was on his knees. His hands were being controlled by the defiling man before him. They rested atop the hard tent forming just below the belt of the person in front of him. He tried to take his hand away, but it was useless. He felt a tear travel down his cheek and he heard Kaido speak, but didn't pay attention. He didn't want to listen. All he wanted was Sasuke. To be saved by the man he secretly loved.

Suddenly, he cried out in pain as his wrist was clenched tightly. He looked up into the flaming eyes of his rapist, who was now staring out the window, his eyes squinting against the light.

"Shit," the blonde heard him mutter. His wrist was let go as the man before him stepped back towards the door.

"I have to go, but remember the deal. I'll find you again soon," he said scathingly and left the room, shutting the door loudly behind him.

The blonde stared at the door for several minutes, in shock. He could faintly hear some more whispering and then scurried footsteps as Kaido and his gang left the building. It was then that he collapsed onto the floor, clutching his head. He didn't care why the other had left so abruptly, but he was eternally grateful he hadn't had to comply with his demands any further. He desperately hoped he would never have to do that, but he knew that wasn't possible; Kaido would surely come back.

He trembled again and let out a sob, tears flowing down his face. _Why him?_ What had he done to deserve this? All he wanted was to live a happy life with Sasuke. He was kind to everyone and he didn't as he was told. Then _why?_ Where had he gone wrong? How had he come to be in the state he was in now: defiled, filthy, and wasting away in a small room in the hospital?

He gasped for air as the tears continued to fall. It was several minutes before he got control of himself and calmed down, if only a little. He slowly pushed himself off the floor and sat up, leaning against the wall beneath the window. Hugging his knees, he curled himself into a ball and let out a whimper.

_Knock knock_.

"Ah!" Naruto cried out loud and jerked violently at the sound. He looked fearfully at the door across from him. Had Kaido decided to come back?

"Naruto?" asked a concerned voice. Naruto vaguely recognized it as belonging to Sasuke. "Are you okay? Can I come in?"

The blonde hesitated. This was too soon. Although he wanted the raven's company, he didn't want to be seen in the state he was in. He knew Sasuke would ask what happened and he wasn't ready to say anything. Not that he could if he wanted to protect the other's life. Plus, he wouldn't be able to bare the look of pity in his eyes which he knew would be present.

Conversely, if he said no, then it would seem like there was something wrong, and then everyone would get suspicious. And he was sure to be locked in the room for longer. Plus, he had the feeling that Sasuke would barge into the room anyway.

"O-okay," he said quietly. The door opened and the blonde could see the raven's legs as he stepped in. the rest of the view was blocked by the bed.

"Naruto?" Sasuke called out, trying to locate the blonde. He panicked for a moment before he heard a barely audible whisper coming from behind the bed by the window.

Discovering the blonde and seeing the condition he as in, he rushed over to his side.

"Naruto! What happened? Are you alright?" he put a hand on his shoulder, hoping to comfort him but was shoved away violently.

At the boy's silence, he looked around trying to discover the source of the boy's distress.

"Y-yeah, I'm alright," he finally said. His head was buried in his arms and Sasuke could sense something was terribly wrong judging by the whimpers that escaped the boy's lips.

He knew the blonde was lying. There was no way he was _alright_. Maybe he's had another nightmare? He voiced this thought but received no answer.

Sitting down properly beside the blonde, he concluded that it couldn't have been a nightmare. After all, he'd only been gone for about an hour.

Anger erupted inside him as he realized there had been no oe stand guard at the door when he came in.

"Naruto," he asked, barely controlling his boiling temper, "how come there's no one at the door?"

Immediately, he noticed the blonde stiffen.

"Shizune and I crossed paths on my way leaving the Hokage's office. I know she wouldn't leave this room without making sure there was someone here first."

He paused, hoping the blonde would say something. He was met with silence once again.

"Naruto, did something happen?" he asked, his rage reaching a dangerously high level. "Did someone come in here?"

Receiving only silence, he made to put and arm around the blonde. Maybe he just needed to get comfortable again; return back to normal. But he was shoved away again, hard.

He caught the dobe's eye as he tried not to topple over from the shove. His heart tore apart at seeing those broken blue eyes. They were like shard of broken glass. No longer did they carry the mirth and happiness they once used to. And now they were pink and puffy, evidence that he had been crying. It made his anger retreat momentarily, only to be replaced with sympathy, concern and something akin to friendship but more passionate. Was it love? He didn't know.

He was still angry of course. He was furious! How could anyone do something that left the blonde so broken and helpless? But right now, all he wanted was to comfort him and bring back to full strength. He'd have to catch the culprit a bit later, whoever it was. And he vowed to pulverize them until they were an inch from death.

"Naruto," he spoke softly and looked at the boy earnestly, trying to get a response from him.

The boy looked away, eyeing the floor with sadness and despair. There was no hope in his eyes.

Sasuke took a deep breath.

"Naruto."

And the boy continued to avoid acknowledging his presence him.

"Dobe," maybe the casual term would get him to relax more. "I know something happened. I know there was someone in here. I saw someone in this room from out the window on my way back."

This aroused the desired reaction within Naruto. His head shot up instantly and his eyes widened. Was it out of shock or fear?

"Will you tell me what happened now?"

"I-I can't," he replied softly.

This confused the raven. "Why not?"

"I just c-can't."

"Naruto-"

"Please, Sasuke, just drop this, Nothing bad happened; I'm fine."

Although the blonde was talking now, it was obvious to the Uchiha that he didn't want to. But something bad _had_ happened. Something—

He gasped. "He came back didn't he?" Whoever attacked you that night, they came back!"

"What? What do you mean by that?" I-It wasn't who you think it was!"

But the fear in those cerulean eyes told the truth. Sasuke expression darkened and he looked like he could murder the next person who entered the room.

Brown hair; the person had brown hair and he looked to be about a couple of inches taller than the blonde. He hadn't seen his face though. _Damn it_, he cursed.

"Naruto," he turned his attention back on the blonde," you need to tell me who it was! I can probably catch him right now; he can't have gone too far!"

"N-no, I told you I can't!"

"It's for your own good, dobe!" he raised his voice, frustrated.

"But Sasuke-"

"Don't you get it?" the raven shouted, letting his anger take control. "I can catch him and you won't ever have to worry about him coming after you again! Do you know what it's like seeing you like this? How am I supposed to understand what to protect you against if I don't know anything? This is the most useless I've ever felt since…since…"

He couldn't bear to mention the death of his parents, but the blonde knew what he meant. Truthfully, the raven was scaring him.

Noticing the look in the dobe's eyes, Sasuke calmed down and came back to his senses. He looked down at the floor between them. The last thing he wanted was for Naruto to fear him.

"Sorry," he muttered. "It's just so damn frustrating not knowing what to do."

He took a deep breath and glanced sideways at the blonde beside him. That was stupid of him. He shouldn't have gotten out of control like that. It hadn't helped his situation with Naruto either. He was actually surprised at his actions. He always prided himself in being in control of his thoughts and emotions. So where had that come from? He blamed it on his relationship with the blonde. The fox always made him act differently than he would like.

"Sasuke," the blonde spoke again after the long silence, "please let this go. I don't want to think about it, let alone talk about it."

He shuddered, but continued in his soft voice, "there's nothing you can do, so please just let it go."

The raven opened his mouth to say something but closed it again. What could he possibly say?

They sat there in silence for a long time. Eventually, Naruto had calmed down completely and rested his head on the raven's shoulder. He was still tense; he couldn't possibly relax after the whole ordeal with Kaido. He closed his eyes and tried to focus thoughts on the raven beside him.

"Oh yeah, the Uchiha spoke up, breaking their silence. "Tsunade-sama said you can go home tomorrow evening."

Naruto's head perked up. "Really?"

"Yes."

"Good," and he slumped his head back on the raven's shoulder.

"I thought you would be more excited."

"I am, but I'm also tried."

"Hn."

In truth, Naruto was now dreading his return. If Kaido could sneak into the hospital, he was sure to come after him in his own home. He debated on whether to ask the raven if he could sleep over at the Uchiha estate, but decided against it. There was more of a chance of him finding out if Kaido came to "visit" him there.

The Uchiha desperately wanted to interrogate the blonde what happened, but decided against it. He would talk to the Hokage about it later. They would figure something out.

Sasuke wondered what the real reason behind the blonde's lack of enthusiasm was. He had been whining all week to go back home. What had happened now? Then it clicked. Of course, Naruto was scared. He had nightmare every night and was always jumpy around everyone. Maybe he should ask the dobe to stay with him? But…he was sure the blonde would say no. His ego was too great.

Instead, he decided to watch over the blonde and if anything suspicious happened, he would demand for the boy to move in to the Uchiha's place.

But for now, he basked in the glow of the blonde's company.

* * *

**Well, what did you think? The next chapter get more interesting with the mission and all. Who knows, maybe Kaido will make another appearance?**

**Once again, if you spot and typos and such, please let me know. And for any of you reading the Christmas fic, I plan to update that one soon as well. **

**I've actually started on the next chapter, so it should be up at some point. I won't get your hopes up and say soon since I'm going to vey busy these next two or three weeks with school and prom (yay!). And I wanted to share some good news with you! I've been accepted into the University of my choice! Well, I was accepted in like...January...but I didn't get around to sharing the good news until now. I'll be going in for Legal Studies and either English/History/Philosophy/Political Science...I can't decide on what minor to do :( But I've still got time, right?**

**Please leave a review, I really would like to know what you think about it so far, and I'd love to see some of your predictions for future chapters. Oh, and I was also wondering what you think of the shifts in perspective? Too sudden and confusing? Or is it okay? I look forward to hearing from everyone again!**


	5. Lost and Found

**Hey everyone! Here's the update! Hope you enjoy! And now, for some responses:**

**remychan123 and Chibiwu: Thanks so much for your reviews. I hope you stay with me until the end!**

**sasukerules101: Thank you!**

**jtwsnw20: I'm glad you like it. I hope to update more often now that it's almost summer. **

**Juura99: I must say I agree with you whole-heartedly. This is my favorite concept/plotline for almost any fictional couple. It's the feeling of catharsis at the end that I love the most.**

**XxSkyeBluexX: If you like sad stories, I'm sure you'll enjoy this chapter. My heart felt for Naruto as I wrote it (which has never happened to me when writing my own things before).**

**Well, there's plenty of angst and fluff in this chapter, I hope you like it. **

* * *

It had been several days since Naruto had been released from the hospital, and several days since Kaido's "visit". Naruto shuddered. Why did he keep thinking about it? He tried to make his mind go blank and focused on the tea in front of him. It was early morning and he was sitting at his kitchen table waiting until it was time to leave.

After having woken up from a nightmare in the middle of the night – again – he hadn't been able to go back to sleep.

He had hoped that he would have gone back to normal by now, but that wasn't the case. He could see it every time he looked himself in the mirror; lifeless eyes, sunken cheeks and a horribly fake smile. The cold and hard truth was that he was dead; nothing but a soulless body that was currently on auto pilot.

Sighing, he looked out the window at the slowly rising sun and took another sip of tea. It was a blissfully calming effect on him, he loved it. But it wasn't the same as having Sasuke beside him as he had before.

The raven still came over a lot, and brought lots of junk food with him. It was almost like things had gone back to normal.

_Almost_.

He still hadn't dropped the feeling of insecurity when he was around people. He couldn't help but flinch at any sort of unexpected noise of touch.

_Don't think about it_, he berated himself.

That was his new strategy: don't think about it. He had been putting everything to the back of his mind, trying to forget. It helped…to a certain extent.

Running a hand through his hair, a habit he had picked up from being around the raven too much, he stood up and started getting ready for the day.

Kakashi had told them yesterday that they would be going on a mission today. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Should he be happy or scared? Though he was finally getting a chance to prove that nothing was wrong – that he was all better – so many things could go wrong. He didn't even know what the mission would entail. Kakashi had kept them in the dark so far.

Once he was fully dressed and prepared, he stepped out the door, squinting at the sun, and locked it behind him. He took to the rooftops and scanned the area all around him. One could never be too careful, especially after had gone on last time.

Satisfied, he made his way to the front gates where he was to meet the rest of the team.

"Hey guys!" he called out, hurrying to meet them.

'Hey Naruto," Sakura called back with a smile.

"Hey dobe," the raven said with a smirk as he got closer.

"Teme," he growled. They seemed to be waiting for something…or some_one_, he realized.

"Is he late again?" Naruto asked exasperated. "Some sensei he is. When I get my hands on him, I'll-"

"You'll what?" said a voice from behind him.

Naruto resisted the urge to shout out in surprise and tried suppress the fear rising within him. He turned around and caught sight of his teacher sitting on the treetop.

"You're late," Sasuke informed him, looking over his should at the Jonin.

"Well, you see," he started. "I was on my way but-"

"You can stop with the excuses, they're getting old now," Sakura said, cutting him off.

"But I had a good one today," he told her, trying to sound offended.

The blonde growled, "Let's go! Let's go!"

He ran over to the gate, hoping the others would hurry along. Despite his fear from before, he was starting to get excited about this. Maybe it wouldn't be all that bad.

"Hold on Naruto," Kakashi chuckled as he walked up to him. "Let me first explain what the mission is."

"Oh," he said, "right."

"We have to go over to Suna-"

"Yes!"

"-for a scouting mission."

"Huh?"

"Apparently, there have been some ninja from the Sound snooping around over there. Some Sand ninja have been severely injured. Our job is to track down the ones who did it: _only_ to track them down. We have been asked specifically to refrain from interfering unless absolutely necessary."

"Aw," Naruto whined. "No action?"

"Probably not. But its still an important mission. The Kazekage has been called over to the land of Mist to discuss some issues with them and he's called us for extra security until he returns."

"When is he-?"

"In four days."

"But it'll take us three days to get there!" Sakura pointed out.

"Oh, I forgot to mention this," Kakashi said sheepishly. "Hokage-sama said there's a newly discovered shortcut which should cut our travel time down to half."

"Okay, then, let's go!" Naruto cheered, and he led the way down the trail.

* * *

It was midday when they decided to take a short lunch break. They found a clearing near a small river and sat down. Taking out his packed lunch, the blonde sighed in contentment.

"Ah! I'm starving!"

'You're always starving," Sakura rolled her eyes.

"I'm still a growing boy, I need my strength!"

"Just make sure you don't wind up like Choji," Kakashi chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he brushed it off, digging into his lunch.

They all ate in silence after that, everyone focusing on their own individual thoughts.

_This isn't so bad_, Naruto thought to himself happily. The mission had succeeded in taking his mind off things and it almost felt like things were back to normal. _Maybe if I keep myself busy with missions_ he_ won't be able to some after me again._

"So, what's the next mission once we're done in Suna?" he asked.

"Slow down Naruto. Let's finish up over here first," Kakashi chuckled. "Besides, this one might take longer than expected if anything comes up."

Naruto nodded quietly and looked as down as he continued planning how to avoid _him_. Unknown to him, the other three exchanged a concerned look, all thinking the same thing.

* * *

Later in the evening, they had decided to stop for the night. They had continued on their journey since their lunch break and were now tired and hungry.

Naruto especially wasn't feeling well. The first little while had felt exhilarating after having been cooped up in the hospital for so long. However, their current mission was already starting to take a toll on him and they weren't even at Suna yet.

He breathed in silently, trying not to let it show that he was out of breath. His mind was fogged, and he was thankful they had stopped or else he was sure to have passed out in the next hour considering the rate at which they were travelling.

Sitting down, he closed his eyes and tried to get his body back to normal. The other three looked over at him, concerned, but it went unnoticed by the blonde.

Although Kyuubi had healed him physically, the emotional and psychological stress was getting to him, not to mention the lack of sleep. _Maybe a good night's rest will do me some good_, he thought.

As he ate his dinner in silence, a new concern came over him: nightmares. Though they had gotten better – only slightly – they still haunted him. In the past two weeks it had become rare for him not to wake up from one in the middle of the night. And he always woke up screaming. Naruto shuddered. He didn't want to think about it.

Once the four of them were done eating, they started setting up for then night.

"I'll take the first shift," Kakashi said, breaking the silence.

This captured the blonde's attention. "I call third."

The third shift in night watch would be just before his nightmares usually began. Maybe he could escape the shame of being woken from another nightmare. It was bad enough in the hospital when either Sakura or one of the other medi-nins had to wake him up in the middle of the night. He shuddered again.

The other looked at him curiously; Naruto always complained about guard shifts. It was a plain fact.

"I'll go second," the raven said. He had a feeling about the blonde's sudden change, and it wasn't good.

Sakura nodded to herself; she'd take the last shift. Once she finished eating, she stood up and started to arrange her things for the night. The other three soon followed her actions.

Kakashi took his place among the treetops from where he had a perfect view of their campsite. When Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura lay down, the fire continued to burn, keeping them warm and casting an ominous glow over them.

Kakashi kept his eyes on the blonde, making sure there wasn't anything wrong. He noticed the dobe's reluctance to sleep, but was satisfied when he soon heard the boy's snores. He looked up at the dark sky, wishing he could be of more help.

* * *

"…ruto! Naruto!"

Naruto groaned and turned over in his sleep. He didn't want to get up yet.

"Dobe! Get up!"

He shot his eyes open. That was Sasuke's voice! He rolled over again and blinked; he was face-to-face with the raven. He stiffened; he hated being in such close proximity to someone, even if it was Sasuke.

"Teme!" he yelped. He sat up and yawned. He rubbed his eyes, trying to get rid of the sleep in his eyes.

He felt oddly…relieved. He hadn't woken up from a nightmare! He smiled at this thought and stood up. Stretching out his stiff muscles, he noticed the raven watching him. He raised an eyebrow at this, silently demanding an explanation for the boy's impatience.

The raven pointed over his shoulder towards the forest trail. Looking around, he noticed that Sakura and Kakashi were sound asleep. Naruto nodded and followed him a little ways from their campsite. They stopped and Naruto looked back over his shoulder. At least they were still able to see the slowly dying fire. He shivered, finding it cold to be away from the warmth of the fire and sleeping bag.

"Cold?" the raven asked quietly. Naruto could see the faint hint of a smirk playing at the other's lips.

"No," he growled. "Why'd you call me out here anyway?"

"I wanted to talk to you," his expression was serious.

"About what?"

The raven gazed into the other's eyes and patiently waited for the blonde to figure it out.

The dobe's eyes widened a fraction as he realized what the Uchiha wanted to discuss. Dread filled his chest and his expression hardened. "No."

"Dobe…"

"I told you last time: just drop it," he said firmly.

"But-"

"I don't want to talk about it. What'd done is done. Things are finally settling down and I'd appreciate it if you stopped reminding me of what happened."

Sasuke sighed and glared at the blonde. "Listen, it you'd just-"

"Sasuke, if that's all you wanted to talk to me about, then I'm going back," he turned to walk back.

The raven growled. "Naruto!"

He grabbed Naruto's shoulders and turned him around gently, stopping him from walking back to their campsite.

"Listen, Naruto. I just need you to tell me who it was. Then we can catch him and put and end to all this," his voice was almost desperate. Naruto had never heard his friend with such pain in his voice. He looked down to his feet.

"I can't," he said softly.

"Why?" The raven asked. He was glad they were able to continue their conversation from before.

"I just can't," the blonde shrugged the other's hands off his shoulders. Being so close to him made him uneasy. He wanted to touch him more. Yet at the same time, he felt panic rise within him.

"Did he curse you with some jutsu?"

The blonde shook his head, "No."

"Did he threaten you?"

Naruto hesitated. He _had_ been a threat but…He shook his head. He couldn't let him know, absolutely not. If anything happened to him…!

Unfortunately, he hesitated for a second too long.

Sasuke gasped. "He did!"

The blonde shut his eyes tight and tried to hold in the rising panic that was about to overtake him. Sasuke wasn't supposed to know! His life would be in danger now if _Kaido_ found out.

"N-no, that's not true," Naruto feebly attempted to deny it.

"It is," Sasuke said firmly, his temper rising slowly. "Don't hide it from me Naruto."

The blonde took a step back, extending the distance between them. His fists were balled at his side as he tried to stop trembling.

"S-Sasuke," he said. "You don't know what you're g-getting yourself into. Don't get involved."

AN image flashed before his eyes: evil, dark, blood, pain, hands…unwanted touches. He took another step back.

"Naruto," Sasuke took a step forward, his heart filling with concern and worry at watching the blonde's actions.

"N-no."

Sasuke paused.

"Don't get involved. Just drop it."

"Dobe, please. I just want to help you! If we can catch the one who did it then things can go back to normal."

"So you're saying I'm normal?" Naruto hissed, his eyes turned to slits as he looked accusingly at the raven.

Sasuke was taken aback. "No, that's not what I mean. I just-"

"Just what? Hate seeing me like this, right? Hate seeing the fact that I'm so weak and pathetic? You want things to turn back to the way things were when only you could get the best of me? When I was able to walk around the village and have everyone tell me to die?" The blonde raged. His mind was reeling. He couldn't think. This wasn't what he meant at all.

He wanted more than anything for things to be 'normal' again. Why was he saying this? His thinking was clouded with fog. Pretty soon those hands would be on him again. Clawing at his skin, tearing him to shreds. He had to stop this. He had to get away from Sasuke. Why wouldn't the raven just leave him alone? He could see the hurt and the shock in the dark obsidian eyes as he continued to rant on.

"Naruto, stop. You're not yourself. Calm down," the boy took a few steps forward so that he was once again close to the quivering blonde.

"No, Sasuke, I-!" the dobe tried to push back from the raven's embrace, but his hold was too strong.

Suddenly, another image flashed before his eyes: Sasuke…his eyes lifeless…blood pooling around him…chest unmoving…It was Sasuke, dead.

Naruto gasped. _Sasuke!_

"Sasuke!" he cried out. _No! This can't be happening!_

Dizziness overcame him and he felt lightheaded. His knees buckled and he would have fallen had Sasuke not been holding him up. All he could focus on was the raven's limp body. He couldn't tell what was reality and what wasn't.

* * *

To say that Sasuke had been caught off guard would be an understatement. Naruto was currently in his arms; tears rolling down his cheeks, his body limp, and mumbling the raven's name over and over under his breath. And yet, the blonde was still conscious enough to attempt to push away from him. It was almost as though he was disgusted by his touch.

Finally, when the dobe's mind was overcome with exhaustion, his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he was help limp and silent in the Uchiha's arms. A frown marred his face.

Sasuke lowered and propped the blonde down against a tree trunk and kneeled in front of him. His brows furrowed in concern and his heart was overcome with sympathy and concern. It tore at his insides seeing the blonde like this. Why wouldn't the boy let him help? If he could just open up more and share his pain...Sasuke would love the opportunity to be able to shoulder some of his pain.

He took the boy's hand in his own and stroked it absently as he sat there, lost in thought. He hoped and expected the dobe to wake up soon. Sighing, he shifted so that he was beside the blonde and took him into his arms, never letting go of his hand.

Naruto relaxed in his arms and Sasuke was relieved to be able to provide the boy some comfort. Sitting there for a few minutes, his mind thought back to what the blonde just revealed to him.

Instantly, anger arose within him. Someone had threatened Naruto! His grip on the boy tightened instinctively. And that….hallucination just now…! Naruto had called out his name. Did that mean the culprit looked like him? No, if that were the case, Naruto would probably be dead scared of him. Had he done something wrong? He hoped not.

Maybe he knew the culprit. But then he probably would have recognized him through the window that day at the hospital.

During the meeting between the Hokage, Kakashi, Sakura and himself, the pink-haired kunoichi had informed that she had seen villagers around the hospital that day. Unfortunately, they all had permission to there and so far, none of the ones who had been there matched the description of the man Sasuke had seen thought the window. Ever since Naruto left the hospital, he and Kakashi had taken turns watching over the boy's house, making sure he was kept safe. They needed to catch the bastard who did this! Their only option now was to interrogate the villagers or make Naruto confess.

He felt the blonde's breathing change and his body stiffen as he stirred. Sasuke looked down beside him where the boy's head rested against his chest. He gently pushed him upright.

Naruto moaned and slowly opened his eyes. He clutched the side of his head and, as he regained his sense, he looked around in the semi-darkness of the forest, taking in his surroundings.

Sasuke noticed the panic rise within the blue orbs before dissipating almost instantly as the dobe's memories resurfaced. He gave the boy a nudge at his side. "Feeling better?"

Although his voice was soft and gentle, Naruto still winced slightly before looking over at his companion. The raven noticed relief in the blue orbs before the boy nodded and turned his head away. He suddenly seemed to find the grass very interesting.

Sasuke smirked. Obviously, Naruto hadn't expected them to be so close together upon waking up. Inside, he was relieved that his touch hadn't been rejected.

"I-I guess I just needed an outlet for all my frustration," the dobe spoke softly.

The Uchiha nodded. That's what he had thought, too. And he was more than happy to be the dobe's outlet. Slowly, he brought his arm around the Shinobi's shoulder, watching for any negative reaction.

The kyuubi vessel stiffened as he felt the hand go around his shoulder. Sasuke noticed this and quickly took it away.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I thought it might help."

The pain of rejection slowly spread within him like poison. He had been wrong to hope that their friendship between would one day spawn into something else.

Upon the blonde's silence, he prepared himself to leave. He couldn't question him any longer now from what had just happened - at least, not now. The dobe needed to relax again, and the raven hated creating any more pain for him.

"I…guess I should go now."

He stood up slowly, brushed the dirt off his clothes and started to make his way back to the fire. Before he could a step, however, he felt a hand clutch the cuff of his pants. He paused, then turned around, looking at Naruto who was desperately holding onto him, though he continued to look away.

"Don't go yet," came his voice like a whisper in the wind.

The Uchiha hesitated. Did this mean he didn't mind his touch? Did Naruto still think of him as only a friend?

"I'm sorry," Naruto looked up, his eyes a bottomless pool of guilt and despair.

"For what?" Sasuke asked, his tone more harsh then intended, causing the blonde to wince. He kneeled beside the boy again. Naruto brought his hand back.

"For everything I just said," he replied. "I didn't mean any of it."

The Uchiha's gaze softened. Naruto could be so cute sometimes. Despite the pain of rejection he still felt, he couldn't help but want to continue to comfort the blonde and rid him of his guilt.

"I know," Sasuke said.

"And," Naruto continued. "I'm sorry for…"

"It's okay," the Uchiha replied, knowing the dobe was referring to the raven behind him almost leaving just now.

"No, it's not," Naruto cried out. "But everything's been so hard ever since _that_ and I just…just…"

"It's okay Naruto," he repeated. "I forced you to talk about things you didn't want to talk about. I'm the one who should be apologizing."

Naruto took a few minutes before replying. "I-It's okay. I know you were just worried."

The raven nodded slowly. Dare he ask? But the dobe spoke before he could muster the courage.

"Sasuke," he asked. "Why are you worrying so much about me? I've never seen you like this."

"Truthfully, neither have I," the raven said lightly before becoming serious again. "You're my closest friend; of course I'd be worried. I'm always worried. Not like Sakura though…"  
Naruto chuckled and waited for the other to continue.

"Naruto," Sasuke hesitated. It was now or never, right? "I…I want you to stay safe. I hate seeing you hurt like that. It hurts me, too, when I see you hurt and bleeding. I care about you….a lot. And I want to make sure you never lost that smile of yours."

He watched as the blonde's eyes widened at this new revelation. A spark of fear lit through his azure eyes before his head turned away to look down at the grass once again.

Immediately, the Uchiha's heart sank and he waited for the rejection that was sure to come.

* * *

"…I want to make sure you never lost that smile of yours."

Naruto stared in a mixture of surprise and shock at hearing those words. Sasuke cared for him! That meant that their feelings were reciprocal!

His heart elated as he imagined himself in the comfort of the raven's embrace; hands running through his hair, their cute intimate touches, their hearts beating as one. It was no longer just a dream! He could freely be with the one he loved. _Forever!_

Or never, a part of him interjected.

His stomach lurched and his heart sank. That's right… if _Kaido_ ever found out he wouldn't hesitate to act on his threat. The image of Sasuke's lifeless body flashed before his eyes and – just like mere moments ago – his body shuddered in fear. He looked away from the raven, the anxiety dissipating.

No matter what happened, he would not risk losing his beloved raven. It had been hard enough dealing with the hallucination of the dead Uchiha and waking up thinking he was gone forever. The relief he had felt just now at seeing him sound and whole had almost felt like heaven. He didn't want that image to become reality.

He felt the feeling of rejection rolling off the boy beside him. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see the slumped shoulders and dejected expression on his face.

He couldn't do this. He couldn't cause the Uchiha to hurt like that. Looking up at the shinobi, he gathered what little courage was left within him after _Kaido's_ attack and decided he needed to clear things up with the raven. It would kill him if Sasuke was in pain.

And then it clicked! _This is exactly how Sasuke must be feeling seeing me like this_, he realized.

Well, it was now or never, right? He prayed Kaido would never find out.

"Sasuke," his voice was soft and gentle.

The raven looked up, and gazed into his eyes. For the first time, Naruto was able to look inside the Uchiha's heart. However, all he could see right now was pain.

"It's okay," he said. "I understand. I…I'll just go."

The blonde pulled him into a hug before he could get away. Despite his instinctive feeling to avoid the intimate contact, Naruto fought against it and kept the raven in the embrace.

"No, Sasuke, I need to explain some things to you," he mumbled. "But…but before I do that, I want you to know that…that I…love you."

He whispered the last part and was glad he was so close to the other boy or else he would have had to repeat himself. Hesitantly, he pulled back a bit and planted a sweet, chaste kiss on the raven's lips. Although he wanted to ravish the boy, it was all he could bring himself to do at the moment. The nightmarish memories were starting to get the better of him.

He held onto the boy desperately, waiting for it to sink in.

"Naruto, what…?" Sasuke sensed the boy's growing discomfort and gently pushed him away, still holding his hands like before.

The dobe felt the raven's questioning gaze trying to discover for himself the truth of his emotions.

"You mean it?" Sasuke asked hesitantly.

Naruto nodded. Instantly, he was pulled back into the young man's embrace. He felt arms around him, holding him against the other's chest.

"I love you, too," Sasuke spoke softly into his ear, and sighed, "God, I've waited so long for this day!"

Naruto couldn't help but smile at this. He watched as Sasuke pulled back slightly and leaned in, his eyes expressing nothing but love and compassion. The blonde closed his eyes and leaned in as well.

The moment their lips connected, he felt nothing but bliss. Surely this was what heaven felt like. Those soft, luscious lips coupled with his own. Never in his life had he felt anything like it.

The passion.

The comfort.

The love.

_The bliss._

His heart sank a little when they finally parted, leaving him breathless. But Sasuke kept him in the warm embrace and he sighed in contentment. Nothing could spoil this moment. Nothing, not even Kaido, that bastard.

Kaido.

_Kaido. _

He flinched violently and pushed the raven away, hugging his arms around himself. Tears formed at the corner of his eyes.

_No!_ His mind wailed. Why did it have to stop? Why did that bastard have to ruin everything even now? _Why?_

* * *

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked, worried. "What's wrong?"

He waited patiently for an answer and for the boy to relaz once again. It was several minutes before his breathing returned to normal. He gulped; he hoped he hadn't done anything wrong.

"Are you okay?" he asked again. "What's wrong?"

"Sasuke," Naruto said quietly. "There are some thing I need to tell you."

His voice sounded so weak and vulnerable that the raven couldn't help but want to hold him. But e kept his distance, in case it caused the shinobi any more discomfort.

However, it was the dobe who slowly huddled closer to him. Although he was still trembling slightly, Sasuke could tell he needed some comfort. He pulled the boy into his arms again and gently ran a hand through his blonde locks.

How strange, he thought. He never would have imagined himself to be in this position with the one he loved in the dead of night, in the middle of the forest. It was as though time stood still.

"Sasuke, I love you, but…"

_But?_ The raven stiffened. What had gone wrong?

"…but I don't deserve you."

He looked down at the boy in confusion, wrapping his arms around the boy even tighter. Did Naruto really believe that?

"That's not true, dobe. You know that's not true-"

"-You're wrong,; you don't know what you're talking about. Let me explain."

The blonde paused, taking the time to gather the courage he needed. Sasuke waited, and continued to run a hand through the blonde hair of the dobe.

"Sasuke, I've loved for you for a very long time. I've always waited for us to be together like this. But I never believed it would happen. That's why I was so happy when we started to get close and I was able to call you my best friend…"

"Me too," the raven whispered in his ear.

Narutoed smiled grimly and continued, "You're so greatl you're the best, just like how an Uchiha should be. Everyone loves you, everyone admires you, even after knowing what you did. They forgave you eventually. You're strong, kind, understanding, mature…you always know what's the right thing to do. Me, on the other hand…the village hate my very existence. They hate me for something I didn't even do. Every time I walk the street they shoot me down and tell me I shouldn't have been born."

He shifted so he was looking up at the raven, his eyes broken and tearful. "And the thing is…they're right. I've only cause theose around to be in pain. No, please, let me finish. It's true, Sasuke. The Akatsuki only came here because of me! And the village is always under threat of the kyuubi taking control of me or me attacking them myself. If they saw us together, they would start to think the same of you."

"Dobe, I-"

"I know; I know you don't care what they think. But after what they did to me, I wouldn't be able to live if the same happened to you."

"The villagers?" Sasuke asked, dumbfounded. "They attacked you? They hurt you? I-"

"Sasuke," the raven felt the blonde's tears splash down onto his arm and wet his shirt. There was fear in his eyes and he had started trembling again. The Uchiha kissed his cheek.

There was more to the story then he had thought. He heared what the blond ewas about to reveal to him, but he stayed strong. His koi needed him. "What did they do to you?"

"Sasuke," Naruto buried his head in the other's chest and mumbled amid his sobs.

"I'm sorry Naruto, I didn't catch that."

The blonde pulled back a bit, but avoided meeting the raven's eyes.

The next three words had the raven's world come crashing down on him.

"They raped me."

It was barely a whisper, but Sasuke heard it loud and clear as though the blonde had shouted. Emotions he normally tried to control overtook him and he felt his heart beat frantically.

"What?" he breathed. It couldn't be true, it just couldn't. That couldn't happen to Naruto – _his_ Naruto. His strong beautiful, kind-hearted Naruto.

"There was a group of them. They followed me and corned me in the alley. I-I didn't want to hurt them! They would just hate me more if I did. They beat me up and used some sort of drug so that I couldn't move. And then – and then they…they…"

His sobs became louder and Sasuke held him, providing as much comfort as he could.

"I'm so pathetic, so worthless," Naruto cried. "I let them do that to me! To me! They kyuubi vessel! And it hurt so much. It hurt so much I couldn't breathe. They – they t-took turns and then they used a knife. I couldn't do anything. I wish they had just killed me. I wanted them to kill me. I couldn't stand it. I deserved it. I deserved all that. I deserved everything they did. I'm so useless, being rejected by the whole village. Even death rejected me."

Sasuke listened, his anger growing with every word the blonde uttered. Once the dobe's sobs had died down, he whispered sweet nothing into his ear, calming the boy down even more. His arms had pulled the boy closer to him a protective gesture. He never wanted to let him go.

"Naruto, you're not worthless. And you didn't deserve any of what they did to you. You need to believe that. The villagers have been blinded by old prejudices. What they did is unforgivable. No one deserves to become a victim to their actions. It's them who are worthless. They deserve death. Not you. Never you," he kissed the blonde's cheeks and wiped the boy's tears away with his thumb. He then proceeded to kiss his love's close eyelids, helping him relax into his arms even more.

He held Naruto's chin and turned his face towards him.

"Naruto," he spoke softly. "I love you."

He kissed the blonde full on the lips, catching him off guard.

"I will kill them," he growled, "for hurting you. I won't ever allow anyone to touch you like that again. I promise."

He stopped before his rage got the best of him. He didn't want to scare the blonde.

"How can you say that?" Naruto breathed. "You still love me? After…after what they did? I'm scarred, I'm used. I don't deserve you."

"Maybe, but I know I deserve you. Your gorgeous smile, your innocent blue eyes, your soft, golden hair, your strength, you heart. You." He kissed his lips and stroked his blonde hair.

"And remember," He added, "an Uchiha never picks anything below the best."

This lifted the blonde's mood and his lips curled into the most beautiful smile Sasuke had ever seen. Naruto rested his head against the Uchiha's chest and breathed in his intoxicating scent. It was a comfort to the both of them.

Sasuke used all his self control to prevent himself from going back to Konoha to serve justice.

"Dobe," he asked. "Who was behind it all?"

He felt the blonde stiffen again and instantly regretted asking. He should have waited to question the blonde any further. It only caused him pain to remember it. Again.

"I-I don't remember who. There was a group of them."

The raven could tell he was lying. He was about to reprimand the boy, but Naruto spoke up first.

"Okay, that's a lie. But," he hesitated. "give me a chance to deal with it. I-I don't want to be scared of them forever."

Sasuke waited a while before responding. He wasn't sure the blonde would be ready for it. "Are you sure?"

The dobe nodded. "Yeah. Getting everything off my chest has made me feel much better."

"Maybe I should come with you…?"

"No! I mean, uh, just let me try on my own."

"Can you at least give me their names?" Sasuke wanted to be able to go after the ones who did it should anything go wrong.

"…I can't. And you can't tell anyone either!" He looked up at the raven again, his tone desperate. "If anything happened to any of you…!"

He fell silent immediately as the raven's lips connected with his own.

Sasuke sighed after pulling back. He wasn't happy about this at all. Especially after learning exactly what his koi had been subjected to. "I…I won't tell anyone. But the next time he gets close to you, I'll be sure to pulverize the bastard."

His fist was clenched and held onto the boy in his arms as though they would be pulled apart any second. He couldn't lose Naruto. _Never_, he vowed.

* * *

**And, Voila! Poor Naruto :( What do you think? I really tried to get into their minds and have them express what they really feel.  
In the next chapter you'll see more of Sasuke's feelings about Kaido (though he doesn't know it's him, yet) and what his plan is for revenge. **

**_QUESTION_: Would you like me to write about their mission? If yes, then I've got great things planned (for Naruto, anyway). If no, then we can get back to Konoha and see what happens. **

**Please leave a review, it would be greatly appreciated! And don't be shy to point out any grammatical/spelling errors.**

**UPDATE: I know I should have informed you all of this earlier...I'm leaving for a month long vacation thing next week. I won't be back until late August which is why I haven't updated recently...busy packing and stuff. Plus, I've been working on a special painting (I'm almost done though!) and all the university stuff (I'm so frustrated!). So, as you might have guessed, I won't be updating until I get back. The good news is that I'm taking writing folder with me and plan to work on some chapters while I'm there. Oh, I'm going to England and Portugal in case any of you were curious. Thank you for being so patient with me.  
****-bow-**


	6. Broken Shards

**Hello! Hello! Hello! **  
**I've returned everyone! (And I'll be updating regularly, too!)**

**So, this chapter is slightly longer than previous ones. There's a lot that happens. I just hope it doesn't feel as if it's going too fast. Be prepared for a lot of drama! **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

It was five days later that Naruto found himself on the familiar trek back to Konoha. Worn out though he was, he was quite content with the proceedings of the mission. They had found the culprits fairly easily and had _tried_ their best to refrain from taking an offensive stance. They had finished things up the night before, and Naruto had even gotten a chance to hang out with the Kazegake and discuss certain _issues_. He shuddered as he remembered the Kage's expression after he found out about the raven. He made a note to himself to make sure he kept those two away from each other as much as possible.

His health had also improved greatly, and he was grateful to be rid of those aches and pains, not to mention the scars which he had feared would forever mar his flesh. Sasuke had been a great support and helped to make sure he took all the pills Sakura had given him. The two had decided to keep things under wraps for the moment and had refrained from telling her or Kakashi about their relationship.

He sighed, thinking back on the events of the past few days. It had been a refreshing yet tiring experience. Every day when he looked at his reflection, he could see the pain and the flaws hovering just behind the surface. He wondered if Sasuke could see that, too. The fact was that he was weak. He knew he was. And that hurt him most of all. In this state, he couldn't protect himself, let alone his friends. It was frustrating beyond belief.

Wincing, he remembered that instant during the mission where he felt nothing but despair and wanted nothing more than to end his existence altogether rather than being forced to face his nightmares.

* * *

FLASHBACK

It was broad daylight and they were at the edge of the forest, just before the desert between Suna and Konoha. They had just spotted the rouge ninja who had been targeting the shinobi of Suna, and had "accidentally" been spotted (they couldn't resist the temptation). Naturally, they had fought back to their attacks. But for a split second, when one of the men had Naruto held against a tree, the blonde's nightmares flashed before his eyes.

He was frozen. He couldn't move. He couldn't think.

It was like time stood still. All he could see was the man's eyes. Those dark, haunting, murderous eyes which sparked within him the same fear as Kaido. He felt the hands which were at his neck start to wander and creep down. He saw the eyes fill with lust and the body press firmly against his.

But he couldn't move.

His heartbeat increased to a frantic rate and a whimper escaped his lips as the hands fell to his belt. He closed his eyes as the fear hit him like bullet and his shoulders weighed down with the resurfacing memories.

"No…"

The man smirked then chuckled, firmly holding the blonde's hands above him.

He could hear everyone else fighting. They hadn't noticed. They were too far away to notice and the trees were blocking their view. He tried to find his voice; he tried to think. He wanted Sasuke. He needed Sasuke.

"Sasu…" but his voice hitched in his throat as the man successfully unbuckled his belt.

"It's okay, you're friends are busy. Don't worry; I'll make sure you're satisfied before I kill you."

He felt the hand slowly move towards his crotch. He stiffened and waited for the worst - unable to do much else - but before the hand could get to its destination, the man's touch was gone. Naruto slowly peeled his eyes open. He saw a flash of raven-black hair before he heard the screams emanating from the one who had stolen him aside.

"How dare you!" Sasuke snarled as he continued to pulverize the man.

Naruto's eyes were widened in shock and he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. Even so, after watching the Uchiha enact his revenge, the blonde couldn't help but fear the look in his eyes.

"Sasuke, stop it," he said, trying to get his love's attention. But his voice went unheard.

"Sasuke, stop it, that's enough," Kakashi said, stepping up beside the blonde. "We'll be in trouble if you beat him to a pulp." He then turned to face the blonde, silently studying him. "Are you okay?"

Naruto nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Sasuke still hadn't stopped.

"Sasuke! Stop it, you're scaring Naruto!" Sakura shouted as she tried to hold back the raven. Kakashi grimly walked over and separated the Uchiha from his victim. "Get a hold of yourself. Don't let your anger get the best of you."

Sasuke shoved the pink-haired kunoichi off him and walked over to the blonde, short of breath. Naruto couldn't help but take an involuntary step back. The raven noticed and stopped in his tracks, looking down at his feet. "Sorry."

"I-It's okay. T-thanks for…y'know…_that_," Naruto said, also looking down at his feet.

"Hn," the raven replied and then turned around to clean up the mess. He made it two steps before Sakura landed him her signature punch which sent him flying ten feet. "You're such an idiot!"

* * *

Ever since that incident, Sasuke hadn't come near him. Naruto suspected it was due to the raven's lack of social skills and his ever-strong pride. Not that he minded much, though he did miss the company. However, it gave him time to think and sort things out in his head.

He was sure Sakura knew about everything. Women were just like that. _Damn woman's intuition,_ he growled. He was scared of what she thought of him now. Was she able to see just how pathetic he had become? Just how weak he was? The pain he felt inside? The memories that continually haunted him?

Then there was Kakashi. There wasn't much that man missed. And judging by the look he had given him, he was sure the man knew. He was just thankful that he hadn't mentioned anything yet. But he knew it was sure to come.

Sure enough, just as the group arrived in front of the gates of Konoha, he stopped them for a final briefing.

"Great job, guys. That went more smoothly than I thought it would. Hokage-sama will be happy," he smiled behind his mask. "We'll meet tomorrow morning at the bridge at seven sharp. Make sure you're on time."

"You mean, make sure _you're_ on time!" Sakura snapped.

"Heh heh, I'm always on time. It's not my fault things come up."

"Right," Sakura rolled her eyes. She turned to leave. "See you all at ten tomorrow!"

The blonde noticed the raven make his way towards him and was about to open his mouth to ask him if he wanted to hang out, but Kakashi interrupted. "Naruto, I was wondering if you would like to accompany me to Iruka's house?"

"Sure!" he replied with a bright smile, and followed the older man. He kept his face down, and didn't turn back to look at the raven. Although he wanted to hang out with him, he also wanted to avoid their inevitable discussion for as long as possible.

The two had been walking for only ten minutes, when the Jounin brought up the topic. "I've got a question for you, Naruto."

"Yeah? What's up?" he asked as he took a seat beside his sensei.

"I think you know what's up. Mind filling me in?" he raised an eyebrow. The man was so blunt; it caught the blonde off guard for a moment.

"If you already know that, then you should know I can't," the dobe replied stubbornly.

"All you need to do is tell me their names. I can take it from there. Then you won't have to deal with them ever again."

Naruto didn't doubt the man's power, but the fear that crawled down his spine at even the thought of _him_ was enough to keep him silent. Plus, he wouldn't ever be able to live with himself _he_ did anything because he couldn't keep his mouth shut. He had told Sasuke he would try to handle this on his own, and he wouldn't go back on his word.

"It's not as simple as that," he explained with a sigh. "I'm a shinobi; I should be able to take care of this on my own. I want to fight back myself. I can't call myself worthy of protecting Konoha unless I do this."

"Naruto, no one expects you to handle something like this on your own. Especially considering how much it's affected you. I saw what happened that day in Suna; you can't fool this old man," he forced a laugh. "No one will think you're weak. People like that need to be punished. And I've seen you fight; under no circumstance will I ever think you're not strong enough to protect this village."

"Kakashi-sensei, I-"

"Besides, if you don't tell me, I'll search and interrogate the whole village until I find those bastards. No one does that to one of my students and gets away with it."

Naruto noticed the murderous gleam in the other's uncovered eye and shivered under the cold stare. He felt slightly guilty at making everyone worry about him. He looked down at his feet. He was surrounded by such wonderful and caring people. If anything happened to them, he'd never be able to live with himself.

Forcing a skip in his step, he gave his sensei a big smile. "Thanks Kakashi-sensei, but I can't tell you."

He turned to leave through a fork in the road, his back turned towards the man, and his hands in his pockets. He'd have to visit Iruka-sensei later. "I want to do this on my own. And besides, if anything happened to you or anyone else because of all this, I'd never forgive myself."

And with that, he walked away heading towards his apartment. Although he may have sounded cool and collected, his heart was pounding inside his chest. As soon as the door to his apartment closed behind him, he let out a long sigh of relief. He flopped down onto the sofa and closed his eyes. Everything that happened to him in the past couple of weeks was making him exhausted. All he wanted to do was sleep, but even then, he was haunted by nightmares.

The only time he had felt relief was when he was in Sasuke's arms. But he had avoided the raven ever since the mission. He knew the Uchiha loved him – he had confessed after all – and he returned those feelings. But he feared staying to close to him at the moment. Until he had taken care of Kaido, he vowed to avoid everyone as much as he could. Ever since he had confessed to Sasuke about everything, and ever since he suspected the Kakashi knew, he feared that _he_ might have already found out. Indeed, since they had returned from mission, he had been overly paranoid.

Slowly, his breathing calmed and he fell into a light sleep. It seemed his exhaustion had finally taken over. He felt relieved and welcomed the little sleep he knew he would get.

It was only a half hour later that a loud knock on the door woke him up. He was instantly alert. He couldn't let his guard down. What if something like _that_ happened again?

* * *

Steel grey eyes followed the blonde-haired boy's retreating back. Running a hand through his hair, he let out a sigh of frustration. Rarely did faze him, but this boy was too stubborn for his own good. He couldn't let one of his students continue to suffer on his own like this.

He had known something was up the night he had seen Sakura running hastily towards the Uchiha manor with her medical supplies. Out of duty and out of curiosity, he had followed her. No doubt he had been shocked about what he heard about the blonde's condition through the walls of the grand estate. He had immediately summoned Paa-kun and his gang and searched throughout the area for the location of Naruto's strife.

Sure enough, once he had found the alleyway, and the canine's had scanned the place with their sharp noses, it was obvious as to what had happened. It wasn't just blood they had found on the ground. It had rained that night, but they were able to sniff out enough to know what they were dealing with it.

Trembling with uncontrolled anger, he had made his way to his lover, Iruka's, house. The man had asked him countless questions and tried to get him to talk, but he had remained silent. He was still in shock about what he had discovered. He had never hidden anything from his lover before, and he was sure he was making the man worry over him, but he still didn't utter a word. Only when he had thought things through and came to a conclusion, he had explained to his lover only that which would let the man trust him and let him keep his silence.

After that, he had gone straight to Hogake-sama's office, and found her drinking while grumbling over her large pile of paper-work. Quickly, he had explained that his student had been attacked and that he was currently at the Uchiha mansion, healing. It had taken a while for him to calm the woman, but after a few carefully chosen words, he had her full attention. Then he recounted the details of what he had encountered at the alleyway. The look in her eyes had been the same as he felt; rage, worry, and love.

He had then worked with her to devise a plan of action to catch the culprits. They had assembled a team of highly skilled shinobi and set to work on looking for the ones who did it. Paa-kun said he was sure there had been more than one, and judging by the state of the alleyway, they weren't shinobi.

Hokage-sama, he remembered, had wanted to barge into the Uchiha's place at once and look over the dobe herself. With watchful persuasion, he had made her agree to go only after her apprentice informed her. It was for the blonde's sake. He knew the boy wouldn't want anyone to know. He knew he would need time to deal with mental damage on his own before he couldn't accept anyone's help. And he knew for a fact that the best thing they could do for now was leave him with the Uchiha. The bond the two shared was the best thing the boy needed at the moment. He had also made her vow not to force him to tell her anything and that they would work in secret to find those bastards.

The following few days, after the blonde had been admitted into the hospital, he had taken turns standing guard outside the boy's room a few times. Haruno had told him that, as far as she could tell, the boy had been attacked. He felt relieved she knew nothing more. He knew it would hurt the blonde if she found out, especially given the closeness between the two. The Kyuubi vessel would hate to have her worry over him. But she was a smart girl; he knew she suspected there was more to it than that.

The whole time the boy had been at the hospital, the raven haired one had shown a great change within him. Never had he seen him work so hard during training. He could see the fire in his eyes and feel the rage emanating from deep within him. It was obvious he was trying his hardest to become stronger; to be able to protect the boy.

It was the incident during the mission that had made him want to talk to the blonde. The boy was so good at masking his feelings it had almost slipped his mind the magnitude of the situation. He had seen that bright smile of his falter, his body stiffen, and the fear light in his eyes. It was finally time to confront him.

Of course, that hadn't gone exactly as planned. Once again, that stubbornness in his eyes frustrated him. It was great to see him want to fight and confront this on his own, but he was foolish if he thought he could do it without help. And especially with the scars he was still trying to heal on the inside.

And so, he found himself starting to continue his trek to his lover's house. He still didn't want to reveal the situation to his koi, but now that Naruto had told Sasuke, he felt it was alright. Just as he was turning the corner to the shinobi's house, he was met up with Shizune.

"Ah, Kakashi-san, I'm glad to have found you so soon!" she smiled brightly, and then turned somber. "Hokage-sama told me to send for you. She told me you would be back from your mission by now, and wants to talk to you right away. It's something about Naruto-kun."

At the mention of the boy's name, his was instantly alert.

"I'll go there right now," he said, and took off toward the tower that stood tall amongst all the other buildings of the village. As much as he wished to see Iruka and spend some time with him after so long, he needed to know what was going on with Naruto's situation.

He made his way to the woman's room once he was inside and knocked on the door loudly.

"Come in," she barked from the other side. He stepped inside, closing the door behind him. Looking up, he found Tsunade sitting behind her desk as usual, with a frown on her face, and her forehead creased. He knew what that implied.

"How was the mission," she growled. He knew she was referring to Naruto's behavior.

"As expected," he replied. They had discussed the situation in great detail the night before his team had left for Suna. "Any progress while I was gone?"

She narrowed her eyes and turned to look out the window. "You won't believe it."

Raising an eyebrow, he took a step forward. She had his full attention now. He waited for her to elaborate.

"Seven," she spat out. "There were _seven_ of them!"

"They've been caught?" he asked in surprise. He hadn't expected to find the culprits so soon. And there were seven of them? He couldn't even begin to imagine what Naruto had to go through.

"I haven't taken them into custody yet, but I plan to tonight," she slammed her fist hard on the desk. "After that, I just need Naruto to disclose to the elders that it really was them. And after _that_," there was a menacing glint in her eye, "they might just _disappear_."

There was a moment of silence between the two as Kakashi took in this new information.

"So they really weren't shinobi?" _Paa-kun was right, again._

"That's right; just a bunch of filthy boys around his age that have been wandering around causing trouble for some other folks as well. I was aware that the villagers didn't think too highly of Naruto, but to go this far…!" She closed let out a frustrated growl.

"I had a talk with Naruto today…"

She looked up. "What did he say?"

"From the conversation we had, I'm pretty sure he won't agree to publically accuse them of attacking him."

"That's absurd! Why wouldn't he? They have to be locked up! And since we don't have any other proof, we need his word!" She barked out.

Kakashi looked down at his feet. "It frustrates me, too, but he says he wants to do this himself…"

"That idiot's going to get himself killed one day if he doesn't let go of his ego!" Tsunade stood up furiously, knocking the chair over. "I won't have it! Those bastards _will_ get the punishment they deserve!"

"It also sounded as if they've blackmailed him," he informed her.

"Like those bastards can do anything against us…" she scoffed.

"I believe they've convinced him otherwise. Nonetheless, I'll do my best to convince Naruto. When do you planning on calling him?"

"Tomorrow afternoon. I'd like to call him in the morning, but I think I'll let him rest a bit. That and I plan to give those bastards a damn good _talk_," she was seething in anger. "You can join me if you like."

"It'd be my pleasure."

"Have you told Iruka yet?" She suddenly remembered him telling her that he would talk to his koi about it soon.

"I will tonight."

She nodded slowly. "Are you sure you think it's a good idea to tell him?"

"I think Naruto needs as much support as he can get."

"I agree." She turned her back to him and walked over to the window, gazing at the slowly setting sun. "You can go now. Return at midnight with Iruka."

"I will."

* * *

The persistent knocking was starting to send him over the edge. He was split between whether he should open it or continue to ignore it until whoever it was went away. The again, he'd been ignoring it for the past ten minutes, but no such luck.

His ears perked up as he heard a muffled voice coming from the other side of the front door. It sounded familiar but he couldn't tell who it was. He tentatively got out of bed and made his way over to the hallway. There was some more yelling. He gulped, hesitating for a few seconds before continuing on towards the front of the house.

"Naruto! Open up! Dobe!"

That was Sasuke!

"I know you're not that deaf! You better open the door before I break it down!"

Relief flooded through his veins as he practically skipped over to the door. Chuckling at his own idiocy, he opened the door widely and gave the Uchiha a big smile.

"Baka! Took you long enough!" Sasuke growled as he stepped inside. "What're you so happy about? I was knocking for over ten minutes!"

"Nothing, I was a bit nervous to open the door; I thought you were…someone else," he said quietly as the fit of giggles subsided.

"Oh," the raven replied, realizing he'd asked the wrong question.

"So," Naruto asked with a forced smile, "why'd you come here?"

"No reason," he shrugged and flopped down on the beaten down sofa. "Can't I come visit my boyfriend?"

Naruto blushed furiously at the other's words and looked away. He didn't think Sasuke would say it so casually…like it was _normal_.

Sasuke smirked at the blonde's reaction. Of course, he was only telling half the truth. His primary reason for coming was to keep an eye on the dobe and look out for any _visitors_. He motioned for Naruto to come sit beside him.

"You're not tired from the mission?" Naruto asked as he sat down.

"If you're trying to make small-talk, that's a failed attempt. You know we've handled much worse than that."

"It's called small-talk for a reason!" he pouted.

"Hn."

"…I was going to ask you to hang out for a while when we returned, but then Kakashi-sensei interrupted," he said.

"It's alright. How was Iruka-sensei?"

"Oh…er…I didn't actually end up going," he replied, looking down at his feet. "Kakashi-sensei wanted to talk about some stuff and then I…left."

"What did he want to talk about?" Sasuke asked, his curiosity taking over.

"…"

"Oh…he knows?"

"Yeah."

"Well, he's not a Jounin for nothing," the raven mumbled to himself. "What did he ask you?"

"He wanted to know who it was. I said I couldn't tell him."

"He's blackmailing you isn't?" he asked sharply, referring to the culprit behind it all.

Naruto stiffed.

"What is it? What did he say? I'm sure we can put an end to this!"

"No, it's not that simple. Just let me handle it on my own. I'll take care of it myself."

"Is he threatening you? You're stronger than him Naruto! You don't need to be scared of some pathetic villagers."

"I know that! But I want to do this on my own!" he yelled.

"But it hurts to see you in pain like this; I want to help!" Sasuke stood up.

"I…I can't, okay? Just give me some time," the blonde put his head in his hands and sighed.

"I'm sorry," Sasuke said, sitting back down. "I shouldn't have yelled like that."

"It's fine, don't worry about it." He stood up and stretched. He wanted to get away from his conversation as fast as possible. "I'm going bed. I was sleeping soundly until you started bombarding the door."

"You deserved it," the raven smirked.

"For what?"

"For being a dobe."

"Argh! That's it! I was going to offer you my bed to sleep on, but I'll just let you have the couch. Blankets are in the closet. Good night!" He stomped off to his bedroom and slammed the door shut behind him. He smiled quietly; these were of the reasons he loved the Uchiha so much. He never failed to cheer him up…even if it was by mindless bickering.

He flopped down on the bed again and sighed. Knowing that Sasuke was in the same building as him gave him some degree of relief. Given his mental exhaustion, and that safety barrier, he was soon off to sleep.

* * *

"What did you call me for?" Naruto whined. He was woken up early this morning by Sasuke who said they were late for meeting the rest of their team. It turned out that they were the first ones there. And once Sakura and her non-stop talking arrived, they waited for two hours before Kakashi-sensei appeared, followed by another lame excuse for his tardiness. And shortly after that, Shizune contacted him saying that Tsunade-baa-chan was expecting him in her office.

So there he was: sitting slumped in a low-back chair across from the Hokage herself.

"Quit your whining; I've got some things I need to discuss with you."

"What is it?"

Tsunade took a deep breath. Knowing Naruto, this wouldn't be easy. She'd rather fight Orochimaru than deal with what was to come.

"Naruto," she started, "your injuries-"

The blonde abruptly stood up, the chair almost falling over. "I'm leaving."

He turned around to leave, but was blocked by the presence of Kakashi and Iruka.

"Let me leave!"

"Naruto, listen-"

"No! I don't know how you found out, but Kakashi-sensei," he turned to face the man again, "I told you yesterday that I wanted to deal with this by myself!"

He then turned to Iruka, his fists tight and trembling with uncontrolled anger and fear. "Did Kakashi-sensei tell you?"

Iruka remained silent and instead looked down at his feet. "Naruto, please, let us help you."

"I don't want your help!" he yelled in frustration.

"Listen here you brat," Tsunade marched over and took a hold of the front of his shirt. She dragged him over to the chair again and pushed him down roughly. "I've got some news for you, and you better pay attention!"

"What?" he muttered through his teeth.

"We caught the bastards who attacked you," she barked out bluntly.

"You…what?" He was in shock for a second. They caught _him_?

"That's right," she continued, watching him carefully. "They're locked up in the cells right now, waiting to face the elders tomorrow morning. For what they've done, I'll be sure to guarantee them a tough punishment."

"Wait, you actually caught them? But how?"

"Let's just say there a whole other meaning to the word shinobi," and she gave a meaningful glace to Kakashi.

"So then why am I here?" He was afraid this was too good to be true.

"Well, there's a problem. You see, although we've caught them, and we're damn sure it _was_ them, we don't have any concrete proof."

"Naruto," Iruka stepped in, "all we need is for you to confirm that it was them in front of the elders tomorrow morning. After that, you'll never have to see them again and they won't ever dare to come close to you."

"What do you mean by 'confirm'?"

"All seven of them are going to be brought in front of the elders tomorrow, and all you have to do is look at their faces and tell the elders that it was they who attacked you."

"So they know what happened as well, do they?" Naruto mumbled quietly.

"You know we won't look at you any different. It wasn't even your fault!"

Naruto clenched his fists, and grit his teeth. It was his fault though, wasn't it? For having survived for so long as the Kyuubi vessel, for not being able to protect himself against meager _villagers_. It was his fault for not being able to keep this a secret. If Kaido had been anyone else – anyone stronger – Sasuke would already be dead. He couldn't even protect the ones he loved, let alone himself.

"Naruto?"

"What time tomorrow?" he asked in a dark tone.

The other three looked at each other with relief. This hadn't gone as bad as they'd expected!

"Nine in the morning. You know the room."

He nodded, before standing up and walking briskly to the door in silence.

As soon as he was out of the building, he ran straight towards his pathetic excuse of an apartment. He wasn't sure what to make of this. He ran as fast as he could until he was facing his front door. He hastily unlocked the door and slammed it shut again after stepping inside. Leaning against the door, and panting heavily, he slid down and brought his knees up to his chest.

Was this good or bad? Obviously it's good, he told himself. That bastard Kaido would finally be locked up where he belonged, and he would never have to deal with him again. What more could he want?

And although he'd told everyone that he would take care of all this himself, he knew he couldn't have. He still trembled when anyone mentioned _that day_, and often had to stop himself from flinching every time someone touched him. He knew he would need help, and he has just used that as an excuse to run away from it all.

_And to protect them. _

That's right; he was doing it to prevent them from getting involved in order to protect them from the same horror he had gone through.

But it was over now, right? All he had to do now was to work at getting over what happened. That way, things could return to normal and he could be more intimate with Sasuke. Of course! What was he so worried about? He should be celebrating! After tomorrow, he could start over.

After a few minutes, he finally stood and made his way to the bathroom. After taking a nice hot shower, and feeling refreshed, he walked into his bedroom. It wasn't until he finally flopped down on the bed and looked around his bedroom did he notice an envelope on his bedside table.

Figuring it was from Sasuke, he grabbed it with earnest. Thinking nothing of the blank envelope, he hastily took out the folded letter that was inside and began reading it. He sat bolt upright at the first two words.

_Hello Monster,_

_I hope you've been sleeping well. But judging by what I've seen you've barely slept at all. Pathetic loser. You should have died that night. But don't worry, you'll get your chance soon enough._

_Didn't I warn you not to tell anyone? It seems you can't even do that right. I know your friend – or should I say boyfriend? – knows. And you told the higher-ups, too. How did you get them on your side? Did you sleep with all of them? Did you beg for more? _

_You're going to pay. We won't let it end like this. If you say a word against any of us tomorrow, you'll regret it. This letter should be proof enough. I have many sources that work for me; that allow me to send you this heartfelt letter even though those bastards have us locked in the cells. _

_I'd watch your back if I were you. Or maybe we'll go the long way and kill whatever filthy friends and _boyfriends_ you have before finishing you off._

_You're a dead man. _

* * *

Naruto stood in front of the Hokage's tower at half past seven the next morning. He hadn't slept at all the night before, and figured he might as well get out of the house. Being near the tower with all the shinobi bustling about made him feel safer.

He sighed and kicked a pebble. He knew what he had to do today; he had made up his mind.

"Naruto?"

The blonde looked around for the owner of the voice. It was Iruka.

"Hey, Iruka-sensei!" he smiled happily.

"What are you doing here so early?"

"I thought it was at seven so I came here early and then I found out that it's at nine, so I thought I might as well wait," he chuckled, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

The older man looked at him for a brief second before he shook his head in disappointment. "Only you would mix up the times. Well, at least you didn't think it was at eleven! How about some ramen?"

"Ramen? Right now? Really?" Naruto asked excitedly. On the inside he wasn't hungry at all. His stomach was full of butterflies and it was making him nauseous. But he didn't want to worry Iruka-sensei any longer.

"Why not? My treat!"

"Yosh!"

* * *

It was an hour and a half later, and Naruto found himself seated in a very uncomfortable chair in the corner of the large room that was normal occupied by the elders. He sighed and looked around the room again, focusing on the elders, Hokage, and Jounin who were discussing things that he couldn't care less about.

His foot was tapping nonstop out of nervousness. He wished Sasuke were here, but neither the Uchiha nor Sakura had been allowed in. He bit his lip when he saw Tsunade motion for _them_ to be brought in.

As soon as he heard the doors open, his body went as stiff as a board and his breath fell short. It was the first time he saw them since that day.

He felt eyes on him and noticed Kakashi-sensei looking at him. He instantly put his mask back on and did his best to take control of his body again.

All seven of them were handcuffed behind their backs, and gagged. He suspected it was to prevent any threats from being called out.

The elders, along with the Hokage, turned to face him.

"Naruto," Tsunade looked him squarely in the eye, and gave the slightest of nods._ You know what to do. _

"Uzumaki Naruto, please step forward," said one of the elders.

He did as he was told, and gulped. His heart was racing far too fast.

"Look at these men carefully, and tell us, are they the ones who attacked you?" Their voices were calm, but held a lot of power.

Naruto looked at each one carefully, his heart beating faster as his eyes finally landed on Kaido. He had a glint in his eyes that confirmed what Naruto feared. Kaido's eyes looked him up and down, filled with lust, and stopped at the sight of the zipper to his pants. The blonde shuddered.

"I…I don't know them," he said, his voice quivering slightly. "It wasn't them."

The whole room fell silent at his words. Even the rustling stopped. He looked down at his feet, his face hot under everyone's glare.

"W-what?" Tsunade was the first to break the silence. "N-Naruto, are you sure?"

He nodded quietly, not trusting himself to speak.

"You're positive, Naruto?" Kakashi asked him. "Once we let them go, there's no turning back."

He only nodded again, still looking down. There was more silence that followed.

"Young man," one of the elders began. "The crime committed here unforgivable. You need only say the word, and they'll be taken away."

"It's not them."

"Very well, take them away."

The group of seven was escorted out of the room, and the blonde finally felt himself starting to calm down.

"Naruto," Kakashi and Iruka were walking over to him. The said something else but he couldn't understand what they were saying. Their words were all slurred.

"What?" he mumbled. He didn't feel too good.

Everything was spinning. He tried to find something to hold onto, but it was all moving too fast. Everything was turning dark. He couldn't see! He felt a sharp pain on his side and then all went black.

* * *

"-ruto!"

_Ugh, what's that yelling? Oh man, let me sleep!_

"Naruto!"

_What is it now?_

"Dobe! Wake up!"

_Sasuke? _

"Is he going to be alright?"

_Who are you talking to? _

"Naruto, please tell me you're okay."

_Hey, that's Sakura! What's going on? Can't they hear me?_

He suddenly felt some light hit face, and he immediately squinted, his eyes still closed. Slowly adjusting, he opened them. He was faced with a pair of dark obsidian eyes that he knew all too well.

"Naruto!" Sakura, who was seated beside him, squealed in delight. "Thank goodness you've come to!"

"Ugh, what happened? Where am I?" He tried to sit up but was immediately pushed down again by the kunoichi.

"You passed out after talking with the elders. We brought you to the hospital. How do you feel?" she asked him, her voice full of concern.

"My side hurts, but other than that I'm fine. You guys sure do overreact!" he smiled gently.

"What happened in there? No one told us anything. After you passed out, Iruka-sensei carried you here. Shizune called us here right after that but we haven't seen Iruka-sensei."

"Oh. Well, nothing really…"

"Naruto," Sasuke growled.

"I'm not lying! It wasn't the same guys, and that's what I told the elders."

"It wasn't the same guys?" Sasuke echoed, and caught eyes with Sakura who mirrored his confusion.

Naruto sat up again slowly and just shrugged.

"So then why did you pass out?" Sasuke asked, suspicious.

The blonde shrugged again, trying to come up with a good answer. "I haven't eaten anything since last night and-"

"I thought you had ramen this morning with Iruka-sensei?" Sakura cut in sharply.

"I-I did! But I was really nervous about the meeting this morning so I guess all the stress just got to me…" He was telling the truth. "Everything happened so fast…"

They were silent for a moment before Sasuke said, "Hn."

Naruto let out a sigh of relief. "So, how long was I out?"

"Not too long, just a few hours." Sakura replied. "But you sure scared us."

"Heh, sorry," he said sheepishly. "When can I get out of here? You know I hate hospitals."

"I'll go talk to Shizune," Sakura said. Then she stood up and left the room, closing the door behind her.

"Dobe-"

"I'm not lying!" the blonde cried out.

"-I was worried."

"Oh."

"…"

"I'm sorry."

"Don't do that again," he growled.

"I won't."

Sasuke took a step closer and sat down at the edge of the bed. He put and arm around the blonde and rested his chin on the dobe's head.

"God, I hate this!" Naruto said, exasperated.

Sasuke took his arm away, "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, it's just…"

"Just what?"

"I want things to return to normal. I don't like being scared of you!" he clenched his sheets in frustration.

"You're scared of me?"

"Not just you! Every time someone touches me, it brings back memories and I hate that!"

"Dobe," Sasuke relaxed and slid his arm around the shinobi again, "it's okay. I'll wait for as long as it takes for you to get over this. And I'll do my best to help you. Even if it takes forever."

"Thanks," Naruto smiled. "But you know…saying all these cheesy lines really doesn't suit you."

"Baka! I'm trying to help you and this is what I get? Some boyfriend you turned out to be," the Uchiha scoffed, and pinched the blonde's cheek.

"Ouch! That hurt, bastard!" Naruto tried to punch the raven.

"You'll have to try harder than that…"

"Why you…!"

"Hey guys, I'm back!" Came Sakura's voice as the door opened.

The two stopped immediately and looked at her.

Sakura stared at the two. "Did I interrupt something?"

"Aside from me trying to kill this bastard here, no, you didn't," Naruto said, pouting.

Sakura smiled, happy to see the blonde in such a good mood for once. "Well I just spoke to Shizune and she said you can go home if you're really feeling well enough. And judging by the looks of it, I'd say you are."

"Great!" he leapt of bed and started to put on his shoes.

"Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei wants to see you after you drop Naruto at his house," she gave him a meaningful look before grabbing her belongings and leaving the room again.

"Looks like you're my baby-sitter now," Naruto said cheekily.

"I don't mind," Sasuke smirked. "It gives me a chance to keep an eye on you."

Naruto saw the Uchiha's eyes look him up and down and blushed. "Pervert!"

"Only for you."

* * *

_So nice to be home…_

"Yeah right," Naruto rolled his eyes. He had just gotten back home and was now sitting on the old sofa. Sasuke had gone back, saying he'd return as soon as possible.

He sighed. None of this was going right. He wouldn't be able to hold on to his mask much longer. After reading that letter last night, he had made up his mind that he would protect Sasuke and all his friends even if it meant having to live in fear of Kaido for the rest of his life.

He knew he shouldn't be scared of someone as despicable as him, but…considering the horror of that night; he didn't want to risk it. And it wasn't as if Kaido was perfectly harmless just because he was a villager. He was an excellent brewer of medicine, and along with that, poison.

He wasn't sure how far Kaido's power could reach, but seeing as he knew about Sasuke, there was not telling when any of his friends might just…fly away. He shuddered at the thought.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when his stomach growled. But he didn't feel like eating at all. "Guess I'll take a shower or something…"

And with that, he stood up slowly and grabbed a towel before disappearing into the bathroom.

Letting the water flow, he turned the knob to increase the temperature. He sighed again, just standing under the showerhead, letting the droplets cleanse his tainted body. "Pathetic…"

"That you are."

He stiffened, and turned around. "Who said that?"

Tentatively, he opened the shower curtain, peering into the small bathroom.

"Who else would it be?" Those cold eyes, the ones that plagued his nightmares, stared back at him. It was Kaido, casually leaning against the closed door of his bathroom, a smug grin plastered on his face.

"You…!" he breathed. His heart beat really fast and his breathing turned shallow.

"I see you finally came to your senses, and listened to what I asked of you." He stood up straight and started to walk over to the blonde, who was clearly trembling in fear.

"D-don't come near me! I did as you said, so there's no need for you to be here!" Why did it have to be in the bathroom? He didn't have any kunai or shuriken with him.

"On the contrary, I thought I'd be nice and give you a nice _reward_." He was close enough to touch now and Naruto tried to melt into the wall as much as possible.

Lowering the pressure of the water, Kaido stepped inside the tub, glaring daggers at the blonde.

_It's now or never_, Naruto thought as he gathered what little courage he had and aimed a punch at the other man. Landing a blow on his stomach, he felt his confidence rising.

"You bastard!" Kaido snarled, hunched over.

"I guess you forget I'm a shinobi!" Naruto landed a kick, followed by another punch.

Wiping the blood off the corner of his mouth, Kaido stood up properly again. "And I guess you forgot whom you're dealing with!"

He threw a handful of blue powder at the blonde's face.

"Gah!" Naruto clenched his eyes shut, and tried to get the burning substance off his face. He scratched at his face and tried to use the water to wash it off.

Taking advantage of the blonde's helplessness, Kaido worked quickly at extracting a syringe from a pocket in his pants and inserting it into the dobe's arm.

"W-what are you doing!" Naruto wailed, trying to get the man off him, his eyes still tightly shut.

"You should know that I don't bluff," Kaido panted, trying to keep the syringe inserted until he emptied all the contents into the dobe's bloodstream.

The water had finally washed away most of the blue powder from before but Naruto felt his movements slowing.

"Serves you right," Kaido spat out. "It won't immobilize you, but it'll slur your movements for the next twelve hours. Plenty of time for me to give you your _gift_."

"W-wait," Naruto held his arms up to block the other's hands but he was easily taken control of.

Kaido flipped the boy around and pushed him against the wall of the shower. "You like that Uchiha, don't you? Well, let me do him a favor and break this hole in for him."

He twisted locked Naruto's hands behind him and inserted a finger.

"Ah!"

"Still tight I see…"

Naruto tried to kick him, but he had lost all coordination of his body and luck was not on his side. His tears streamed down, mixing with the water.

Reliving this nightmare had left him without any hope.

When the man finally left, Naruto was left on the floor under the now cold water, curled into the fetal position. His eyes were only half open, and glazed over, not even a hint of life shining through.

_This is my life…_

* * *

**Oh, poor Naruto. I hate being so mean to him :( **  
**So, I hope that wasn't too fast. And I also really hope everyone was still in character. It's been a while since I last updated with an actual chapter, but I hope I haven't lost sight of the intial feel of the story. There's still a lot to come! **

**Please tell me what you think!**


	7. Rendezvous

**What's that? An update? That's right! I'm actually a few days late, believe it or not. I finished over the weekend but since I have very limited downloads/internet usage per month and I used most of it on youtube and reading all of your fics so I had to wait until the new months started. Whoops! **

**Special thanks  
**

**Are you ready for what's about to happen next? I certainly hope you enjoy it! **

* * *

Sasuke had just left from his meeting with Kakashi. He was in a grim mood. They had discussed Naruto's current situation and his meeting this morning. Both Kakashi and himself suspected that whoever it was that was after Naruto had clearly blackmailed the dobe into lying in front of the elders. Kakashi was under the suspicion that the group of boys they'd detained as suspects were indeed the ones who were behind it all and that they had somehow managed to convince the blonde to refrain from disclosing the truth.

_If you had seen Naruto's expression when they entered the room, you'd think so too,_ Kakashi had explained.

_Damn those bastards,_ Sasuke cursed to himself as he left the meeting room.

The two of them had decided to keep an eye on Naruto for the time being. Sasuke brought up the idea of keeping the dobe at the Uchiha grounds until everything was settled and Kakashi had agreed. They also agreed on keeping an eye on the group of boys that had now been released. Just as he was leaving, the Jonin had quietly told Sasuke to be extra cautious.

_I have a feeling that whoever was behind this will come after Naruto again; be careful. _

Remembering those words, Sasuke sped up his pace on his trek back to the dobe's old run-down apartment. If anyone came after his blonde again, he'd make sure the man behind it wished to be taken to hell rather than face his wrath. No one did that to _his_ Naruto and got away with it.

Upon arriving at said blonde's front door, the Uchiha immediately felt something was wrong. He knocked on the door and waited for Naruto to open it. But no one came. He knocked again and still no response. Ten minutes passed and he kept knocking; he was getting increasingly anxious.

"Naruto!" Sasuke called out the blonde's name. "Open up! It's me, Sasuke!"

_That's it,_ he thought, _I don't care if Naruto doesn't like it, but I'm breaking down the door!_

Taking a few steps back, he ran towards the door, bracing for contact with his shoulder and let out a grunt as he hit the wood. It didn't open so he tried again and grinned triumphantly when the door came crashing down, the old rusty hinges flying clean off.

Dusting himself off, he looked around the room suspiciously. Everything seemed fine. Taking a step into the room, he lifted the door and put it back in place as best as he could. He heard the sound of the shower and nearly let out a sigh of relief. At least this meant that the only reason the dobe hadn't answered the door was because he was in the shower. He walked towards the bathroom door and knocked gently.

"Hey Naruto, I just got back," he said. "Take your time; I'm going to start packing your clothes. I'll explain when you get out."

He prepared himself for the yelling that he was sure would ensue, but nothing came.

"Naruto?" he called. Still nothing. Maybe he didn't hear him?

Not wanting to start panicking over nothing, he continued on his way down the corridor and entered the blonde's room. It was messy as usual. He opened the closet and started piling all the clothes on the bed. He'd have to ask Naruto where he kept his bag. Getting down on all fours, he looked under the bed in case there was anything there. All he saw were some crumpled pieces of paper and an empty carton of instant ramen. Stretching his arm out he dragged it all out. Picking him all up in his arms he carried it over to the waste bin and was about to throw it all away when something caught his attention.

There was a part of one of the crumpled pieces of paper that read 'Hello Monster'. Was Naruto getting hate mail from the residents of Konoha? Curiosity taking over, he laid out the pile in his hands on Naruto's dresser and uncurled the note. Flattening it on the dresser, he noticed there were tear marks on the paper. This made Sasuke's blood boil. He finally focused on the words, his eyes widening in shock as he read what was written. This was…!

He looked up, and caught sight of himself in the mirror. His sharingan was on the verge of activation and he could see himself seething with anger. He now understood why the village called him the Avenger. The look in his eyes – if he wasn't seeing them as his own – would probably send fear down his spine any other day.

This was proof! With this they could put an end to this. Naruto had gone through enough torture, and it would end here. How dare this person accuse Naruto of sleeping with higher ranking ninja! How dare he try to threaten him! How dare he cause Naruto so much pain!

Straightening up, he walked over to the bathroom again and pounded on the door. If that note was anything to go by, something might have happened to Naruto already! He wouldn't risk it.

"Naruto!" he barked. "Get out now! We need to talk!" Shit, he shouldn't use that tone with Naruto. It made him sound like he was blaming the blonde. He could only imagine how the dobe kept this all hidden.

"Naruto," he called out again, his voice much calmer and gentler. "Can I come in?" He waited a few seconds, but when no reply came, he took a step back and braced himself for breaking down the door.

"I'm coming in!" he yelled and ran forward; the door giving way to his strength and finally collapsing at his feet.

Stepping inside, he frantically looked around for the blonde. "NARUTO!"

* * *

Everything hurt. It was almost as bad as that day when all of seven of them had their way with him. It hurt to even breathe and he felt sick. He tried to get up, but, just as that bastard had dictated, he was unable to move properly.

There were no words to describe how he felt inside. This was the second time this had happened and he could do nothing to save himself, or at least fight back. Some shinobi he was. This was also the second time he 'betrayed' Sasuke. What would the Uchiha think of him now?

He tried to blink back the tears but in the end he let them flow. He had already shed enough tears in front of Kaido; what did it matter now? He had let the man see him at his weakest point, and let him defile his body. What was the point of trying to keep up pretences now? The only thing that could help him now was a knife. Yet he didn't even have the strength to go and find one.

His body was going numb now as the icy water trailed down his naked flesh. The only warmth he felt was in his nether regions; the one place where he didn't want to feel any warmth. It meant he was beyond dirty now; beyond filthy. He felt like a lifeless body.

It wasn't so much that _that_ had happened to him again; rather the fact that _he couldn't do anything about it _that bothered him the most_. _It was what hurt the most. Maybe he should give up trying to become the next Hokage and just move to some unknown little village in the middle of nowhere.

He closed his eyes now, allowing himself to relish in the numbness that the water gave him. It was like he frozen in time. It gave him a feeling of safety. No one could find him now. No one could hurt him here. All he had to do was stay like this forever…until his body decayed and he could really disappear forever.

He almost snorted that the thought. What had happened to him? If he ever met himself in some alternate reality, he would despise what he saw. Not that he didn't already. But he had had a decent life so far. Aside from the constant mocking he received from the village (which he learned to tune out), he had great friends, and a great lifestyle. He always tried to make the most of it.

More tears started to flow now. Is that how it was supposed to be for him? After all he did; after all the hard work he put into making things work, was this the inevitable end? But it couldn't end like this! Could it?

Wait, what was he talking about? Nothing was about to end. Life would go on like normal for everyone, no matter what happened to him. In fact, if he did use a knife and actually end things once and for all, he was pretty sure the village would rejoice. They would be happy that the Kyuubi vessel was now dead, even though they never got the chance to really know who he was. It was all about the Kyuubi.

Didn't they know that, if he wanted, he could have used the nine-tailed fox's power to decimate every single one of them? But, of course, that's the reason they hated him. And in yearning for their love and admiration, he couldn't use the fox's power to protect himself. How cruel.

**What do their opinions matter? **

_Kyuubi? You finally showed up? _

**I've been here this whole time. **

_Not like you did anything about it. _

**You know why I didn't. **

_Sorry…I'm blaming others for my own weakness._

**If that's what you want to call it. I call it stupidity. **

_Of course you would. I don't want to hear what you have to say about it. You're only trying to help because you need my body to survive. _

**Maybe you've grown on me?**

_Not likely. You don't have to put up the act. _

**Fine, so you know that I still don't like you. And I never will. I don't know why that fool sealed me inside someone like you… However, I'm not going to stop trying to convince you to let me kill that puny human. **

_I'm never going to let you kill another human; especially someone from Konoha. Not as long as I'm still alive._

**How long will that be? I heard your thoughts; going after a knife? And I thought you couldn't sink any lower. **

_A knife feels like sanctuary compared to living my life. _

**I know what happens in your life but your sob story won't change the fact that you're choosing the coward's way out. **

_Shut up! You may know what happens, but _I'm _the one who has to _live _it!_

**So you're going to end it just like that? What about that Uchiha boy? You're going to leave him just like that? After all those **_**hard**_** years of trying to get him to notice you?**

_Once he sees me like this, it's only a matter of time before he leaves me. No one wants someone who's been used. Twice. _

**I didn't know you had such little trust in him. I thought you could at least tell the difference between things like that. I guess you're pathetic after all. Fine; do what you will. Just remember that I'll be the first one you face in hell. **

_Hell, huh? I'll see about that. If it does exist, and we do meet there, I'll be the one to end you once and for all!_

He waited for a response, but nothing came. He was alone. Again. Just like he would be for the rest of life after the drug wears off. How long had it been? He could no longer feel his limbs and his breaths were short and shallow. He knew he was shivering, but he couldn't feel it.

He heard the sound of something slamming in the distance and wondered if this was what it sounded like after your body was almost frozen to the core. What that the sound of his failing heartbeat? But it only came once. Some shouting came next, but he couldn't comprehend any of it. He didn't even recognize the voice, if that's what it was. Was this another effect of the drug?

He didn't care anymore. He could be ripped to pieces right and he wouldn't care. Probably because he wouldn't be able to feel it. He was dead now; in every sense but the physical.

The only sound coming now was the continued cascade of water from the shower above him. Forget it, he didn't care anymore. He gave up. This was too much work.

As his mind drifted off, the last thought that came to his mind was his desire to be in Sasuke's arms. Safe.

* * *

As Sasuke took in the sight before, he felt his legs about to give way. He thought he'd seen it all when he found the blonde in the alley covered in blood. Although he wasn't covered in blood this time, or any other substance as far as he could tell, just seeing his body coiled up like that looking as though he were about to die was somehow worse.

Sasuke rushed forward, and kneeled beside the bathtub. Panic was now running through his veins. What should he do?

Quickly turning off the tap that was now expelling ice cold water, he grabbed the towel that was hanging near him and covered the poor blonde who was shivering. The blonde was curled in the fetal position on the floor of the tub, his eyes slightly open with a dazed expression on his face. He didn't seem to notice that the Uchiha was there. He didn't even react to his touch.

As gently as he could, he slowly pulled the blonde upright and lifted him out of the tub, drying him off with the towel as he did so. There was still no reaction, not even a spark in his eyes that may suggest he felt the Uchiha's presence. Sasuke held him close, trying to stop the shivers, rubbing circles into his back. His own hands were trembling. He looked around for any sight of a struggle or fight that might have led the blonde to such a condition.

Not finding anything obvious, he carried the blonde out of the bathroom and into his bedroom, with the intention of warming him up and dressing him with some appropriate clothing. Once there, he carefully laid the blonde on the bed, still wrapped in his towel. He ran over to the linen closet, found another towel and proceeded to dry the dobe's hair; it was dripping with ice cold water. Then, turning to the closet, he randomly picked out an orange t-shirt and a pair of black pants along with some underwear and began to dress the blonde.

For a moment, he blushed, realizing this would be the first time he actually saw the blonde naked like this. But he snapped out of it quickly enough, reprimanding himself for being a pervert at such a crucial moment. After finally dressing the blonde, who was still in a daze – almost unconscious – he brought the covers over the boy and tucked him in.

Cautiously touching the boy's cheek, he felt the skin was still slightly cold, but his face was beginning to turn a peaky red color. Sasuke hoped the blonde hadn't caught a fever.

"Naruto?" he said softly, gently tapping the boy's cheek. There was no reaction. He frowned.

What had happened? He couldn't have been gone for more than hour. It was probably less than hour. He looked back down at the blonde.

"Naruto," he said, a bit louder this time, "if you can hear me, I'm right here. You don't have to say anything right now, just rest. I'll be right back."

He stood up, eyeing Naruto again for any sign of movement before returning to the bathroom. He stepped over the dismantled door, and lifted it, setting his upright along the wall and out of the way. He then turned around and looked around the sink first. There wasn't anything suspicious as far as he could tell, just the usual comb and toothbrush and whatnot. The garbage bin was relatively empty; just a toilet paper roll.

Moving on to the bathtub, he still didn't find anything out of the ordinary – at first. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a few blue water droplets clinging to the tiles on the wall. A suspicious frown donning his face, he leaned in closer to get a better look. It didn't look too harmful, so he wiped away at a few of the droplets and rubbed the blue substance between his fingers.

"Ah!" he hissed, feeling his finger start to sting instantly. He was almost as if it were on fire. "What the hell!"

He went over to the sink and ran some cold water over it until the feeling subsided. "Damn bastards."

He was, of course, referring to the group of village boys that he was _sure_ was behind this. Balling his fists, he looked around the bathroom some more in case there was anything else he could find. Not able to discover anything else, he returned to the dobe's room, finding him in the same position as he left him.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he stroked the boy's cheek, feeling an eerie sense of déjà vu. Something happened to Naruto again, and he wasn't able to do _anything._ What a pathetic boyfriend. He closed his eyes shut, trying not to let the emotions take control. He had to stay strong. For Naruto.

"Naruto," he almost choked. "Can you hear me?"

This time, though very faint, Sasuke felt the blonde's breathe hitch for a split second before returning to normal. That was something!

"Dobe," he called out, gaining more control of his voice. Again, the same reaction. "Please, wake up."

Was 'wake up' the right term to use? Although Naruto wasn't reacting too much, his eyes were still open. _Whatever_, he thought.

He gently shook the blonde this time, desperately calling out his name, urging him to snap out of it.

"Ugh…" That was moan! Was he waking up? Sasuke's heart sped up; would he be alright?

He was about to call out to him again, when he heard a faint knock and then a crash. He stood up instantly, pulling out a kunai from his pocket and cautiously proceeded to the front of the apartment. He crept along the walls, and peered out from around the corner. He almost sighed in relief when he discovered who it was.

"Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke greeted, stepping out from behind the wall.

"Ah, Sasuke-kun, I see you finally took care of the door," the man replied.

"We've got trouble," he said gravely, getting to the point. He didn't bother to ask why the man was here. "Follow me."

The Jonin followed his student through the corridor, glancing at the broken bathroom door along the way. Arriving at the bedroom, his eyes went wide when he saw his other student laying on the bed, clearly in a bad condition.

"What happened?" he asked sharply, stepping around to the other side of the bed where he bent forward to get a better look at the blonde.

"I'm not quite sure. When I came in, I found a note from _those bastards_, and I broke into the bathroom since he was taking a shower in there. When I got in, he was lying down on the bottom of the tub, exactly like this," the Uchiha explained. He voice was laced with anger and regret, and inside he felt a sense of self-disgust. If only he'd gotten here sooner.

"Note?" the sensei echoed. "Show me."

Sasuke glanced over to the dresser where he had left the note. Kakashi walked over to it, and began reading. "So it was them."

Having known the older man for so many years, Sasuke found it surprising to hear the tone of the man's voice at that moment. As much as he probably tried to hide it, the Jonin's voice was filled with rage and disgust, and – the most surprising – a sense of grief.

The Uchiha nodded solemnly, looking down at the floor in fury.

"Did you find anything suspicious?" Kakashi asked. He pocketed the note, and headed towards the bathroom.

"You won't believe it," Sasuke answered, following the man into the bathroom and over to the tub where he pointed out the blue substance.

"I'm not sure what it is," he explained. "But when I touched it, it felt like my finger was on fire. It has an incredible sting."

"I think I have an idea what it is. I'm going to call Yamanaka-san and have him check this out. I'm sure he'll know," Kakashi said after taking a closer look at the walls. He pulled out an empty vile and managed to scoop up some droplets.

"Don't tell him about Naruto!" Sasuke said sharply. He knew Naruto wouldn't want that.

"Don't worry," he responded. He put the vile safely into one of his Jonin vest pockets and scanned the small bathroom once before motioning to the Uchiha that he was done.

Heading back into the bedroom, Kakashi glanced over at Naruto again, realizing he was in dry clothes.

"You dressed him?" he asked seriously, no sign of his otherwise perverted persona.

"Yeah, the water was cold by the time I found him and he was shivering."

"Any bruises or abrasions on his body?" Kakashi stepped over to the blonde's bedside again and leaned in close, slowly pulling back the covers to reveal the rest of his orange shirt.

"I didn't pay much attention; I was busy focusing on dressing him," Sasuke, on the other side of the bed, took hold of the dobe's arm and held it firmly, looking for any signs of physical damage.

"Here, look," Kakashi pointed out a spot on Naruto's other arm. It was red and looked irritated, and in the center was a deep red dot.

Upon closer inspection, Sasuke realized it was a needle scar. "This is…!"

"He's been drugged," Kakashi said grimly and looked over at Naruto's face. Checking the boy's pulse, he nodded to himself in confirmation. He carefully lifted the hem of the dobe's shirt to search for any damage to his torso.

Leaning back, the Jonin sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "The few bruises on his torso indicate that he was handled roughly. He probably tried to fight back. Judging by his heartbeat and breathing, not to mention the state he's in, he was injected with an immobilizing poison. I can't say how long it will last, but it's not lethal as far as I can tell."

"But that means…!" Sasuke cursed. That only meant one thing. Sorrow filled his breaths as he realized what must have happened to Naruto in there. He closed his eyes shut and clenched the sheets in his fists, trying to contain the onslaught of emotion that was running through him. "I'm going to kill that bastard."

Kakashi laid a hand on the Uchiha's shoulder, trying to reassure him. He would make sure the bastard got his overdue punishment. He would see to it personally. Standing up, he gazed upon the blonde once more before swiftly leaving the room. He didn't need to inform the raven where he was going.

"Naruto…" Sasuke breathed. Still holding the blonde's hand, he leaned down and captured his lips with a kiss. He would find a way to bring things back to normal. He would make sure to erase any remnants of that bastard's touch on the blonde. Breathing in the blonde's scent, he nuzzled into his neck, planting a soft kiss near the jugular, listening to Naruto's heartbeat.

"Dobe…everything will turn out well in the end. I promise."

"Ngh…"

Sasuke opened his eyes wide, his ears perking up. He immediately sat up again, and looked over the blonde's face with anticipation. Did Naruto just groan? "Naruto?"

The blonde groaned again, his eyes squinting. His breath was short and fast, almost like a pant.

"Dobe? Are you alright? Wake up!" Sasuke urged, gently stroking the blonde's cheek.

After taking in a long, deep breath, the dobe finally seemed to calm down enough to allow his eyes to open. "Damn…"

"Naruto! Thank God!" Sasuke sighed in relief, a grin playing at his lips.

"Sasuke?" Naruto moaned, trying to get his head clear.

"Yes, it's me! Don't worry, you're safe; I'm right here," the raven gave his hand a firm squeeze.

"Sasuke! Oh!" The blonde tried to lift his arms in a meagre attempt to hug the other shinobi, but was unable to move more than an inch. "I can't move!"

His words were slow and slightly slurred. The drug was clearly still in effect.

"It's okay, don't worry. Kakashi-sensei said it's not lethal. Just relax and stay still. We don't know how long until the effects wear off." Sasuke embraced the blonde instead and looked at him with eyes full of concern.

"…hours," Naruto mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Twelve hours," he repeated a bit louder. "That's what he said…"

"That bastard!" Sasuke snarled, clenching his fists again. "But, I'm glad you're alive and still here."

"Thanks," Naruto said. He then closed his eyes, the feeling of dread overcoming him as he recalled just how damaged he now was.

"I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner," the raven said, gazing deep into the blonde's sapphire eyes. Naruto could tell just how panicked and worried he was. He'd never seen Sasuke like this before. This must have been the expression on his face after coming home to realize his family had been murdered.

"It's not your fault," he tried to smile.

"Yes it is! I should have known! I should have felt it! It's my job to keep you safe. At least while you're still injured."

"I'm a shinobi, too. I should have been able to take care of it," Naruto said firmly as firmly as he could, given his slurred speech.

"Don't worry Naruto, everything will be alright again. We'll get him! I'm going to kill him! He'll never touch you again!"

"Oh…so you know…" Naruto said slowly. Inside, his heart was on rapid fire. What would Sasuke think of him now?

"I'm sorry Naruto…" the raven said, looking down at his hands. "This shouldn't have happened. You don't deserve this. I'll make things right again."

"No, it's okay Sasuke; you don't have to act like this. I know you're probably disgusted that I let this happen _twice_. You can go. I won't get mad." His eyes were clenched shut and it hurt to say those words, but he had to. It would be too painful if Sasuke broke things off in the future after bringing up his hopes about having a 'normal' life.

Sasuke did a double take. What was the dobe going on about? Was this a side effect of the poison? "Naruto, what are you talking about? I'm not disgusted; I'd never think that! I-"

"You don't have to go through the trouble, Sasuke: I know. No one wants someone who's been _used_," Naruto said, diverting his eyes to the ceiling. Saying it aloud just made it more painful.

"What? Is that what you think? Don't say that! That's definitely not how I think of you." Sasuke looked carefully at the blonde who had now closed his eyes and was staying silent. Is this what Naruto thought? Did have such little trust in him? He loved Naruto, and he wouldn't let _that bastard_ create a distance between them.

"Naruto, listen to me," the raven lifted the blonde's chin slightly and forced him to make eye contact. "First of all, none of this was your fault; you didn't ask for this to happen. So stop whining about it, because I know you're stronger than this. Secondly, I don't give a crap about you thinking you've been _used_. You're mine. All I care about is making sure you're safe and happy. Incidentally, this means I'll have to kill him and his gang of arseholes."

Naruto's lips curved into a smile at the raven's words. Typical Sasuke; just because he can't express his emotions, he lets the anger take over.

"I love you Naruto," he whispered, letting his deep voice find its way to the blonde's heart. "I hate to see you like this."

"I love you too, Sasuke. I'm sorry for yelling at you," the blonde replied. "I'm just really frustrated. I don't know what to do. I'm scared. Of him and of what he can do to me or to you."

"He can't do anything to us Naruto. We're shinobi for a reason."

"Look at the state I'm in right now!"

"But he didn't kill you."

"He might as well have," Naruto said bitterly.

"Naruto-"

"Next time he could go after you…"

"Don't believe that stupid note."

"You saw the note?"

Sasuke nodded. "I found it as I was packing up your things. I showed it to Kakashi-sensei, too. He went to go lock them all up again and then find Yamanaka-san to analyze the blue substance we found in your bathroom."

"I – you – when – what? Packing for what? Kakashi-sensei knows, too?"

The raven nodded again and gently ran a hand through the blonde's damp hair, trying to calm him down. He explained what had happened from when he left the dobe's apartment to when he broke into the blonde's bathroom and then his conversation with Kakashi.

"That stupid blue powder!" Naruto growled, remembering his encounter in the bathroom. "I thought I would go blind. He threw it into my face and then it burned so bad! I couldn't do anything! That was when he injected me with whatever poison he had and then…and then he…yeah…"

"It's okay. That was the last time he's ever going to touch you. After I take you to the Uchiha grounds and get you checked, I'm going to pay that bastard a little _visit_," he said menacingly.

"When can we go? I don't want to stay here any longer. Everything reminds me of…" he shuddered slightly.

"I'll start packing your things, just tell me what to do," Sasuke said, getting up. "Do you want anything before I start?"

Naruto shook his. "No, but I do have a question for you."

"Yeah?"

"How did I get into these clothes?"

"That was all me," the raven smirked.

"Pervert!" Naruto spat, his face turning red instantly.

Sasuke chuckled. He was glad Naruto was still able to joke around and laugh, even if it was clearly forced. He was happy to know that his spirit was still there…albeit somewhere deep down.

* * *

"Yamanaka-san! I've got something for you," Kakashi said as soon as he entered the office for the headquarters of the intelligence department of the Konoha shinobi forces.

"What is it?" Yamanaka Inoichi asked, looking up from his current assignment. He wasn't the least bit surprised at having the other Jonin walk in so unexpectedly.

Kakashi took out the vile of blue liquid and handed it to the other man. "I need this examined. I need to know what it is and where it came from."

Taking the vile in his hand, Yamanaka looked at it carefully in the light. "I can't tell right away, but I have a hunch. Give me an hour, tops. I'd like to run some tests just in case."

Kakashi nodded stiffly and left the room, walking briskly towards the Hokage's office. He needed to find out more about that poison. And there was no one better to talk to than lady Tsunade herself. Arriving in front of the door, he knocked and waited until he heard her voice barking at him to get in.

Upon seeing the Jonin's visage, Tsunade stood up swiftly and asked "What's wrong?"

"We've got a situation-"

"Is it about Naruto?" She asked bluntly.

The man nodded, and continued. "The seven men we caught earlier…get all of them in the cells again except their leader. The one with the cold eyes. I'll take care of him personally."

"Why? What happened? How do you know it's them?" she demanded. "Naruto just denied everything this morning…"

Kakashi took a deep breath and explained everything that had happened after he had gone after Sasuke to check on Naruto. By the time he was done, Tsunade had her eyes open in shock. She stood up and turned to look outside the window. It was silent while she contemplated the implications of this new information.

"What did you say you did with the vile?" she asked.

"Yamanaka-san is taking a look at it right now," he replied.

She nodded silently, and then turned around suddenly. "Tell me more about this poison."

"As far as I can tell," he started, watching her as she sat down with her elbows propped up on the table, "the only major effect that I noticed was immobility. And the effect, I'm guessing, was almost instantaneous. There were bruises on Naruto's body so I'm sure he put up a fight. I'm assuming the blue substance was used as a diversion to take away Naruto's attention so that the drug could be administered through the syringe. Up until I arrived, Naruto was still immobilized, lying on his bed. I wasn't able to tell how long the effects would last but I'm sure that with the accelerated healing powers of the nine-tails, he'll be awake soon enough, even if he won't be able to move right away."

"As always, Kakashi, your abilities of deduction never cease to amaze me," she nodded in his direction. She closed her eyes for a moment and took in the new information. When she opened them again, they were full of fiery determination. "This poison sounds familiar. I came across something like this during my travels after I left Konoha. There's an herb that grows not too far from here and, if cultivated properly, it can be used as a very strong sedative. Mixed with the right ingredients, it develops into a type of poison exactly like what you described."

"It's not lethal, I'm assuming?"

"No, it's not," she shook her head. "But the length of time it stays in effects varies highly depending on how it's made. As far as I know, there's only one person in Konoha who knows how to brew it properly. She's an old lady who runs a little shop near the east side of the village. I don't think she would sell it to anyone if she knew what the intention was."

"I'll go and check it out," Kakashi offered.

"No, wait…" she stopped him, and rubbed her temples as she tried to remember some old forgotten fact. "I remember now! I thought she didn't have any kids, because I know she was never married. When I was a chunnin my team helped her on a mission, so I know. But then she took in her nephew's son when his father turned ill. It's him! The one who's been attacking Naruto. That bastard!" She growled.

"So he learned everything as her apprentice? We need to stop him!" Kakashi said in a dark tone.

"If he came after Naruto again so soon, I'm sure he'll come back tonight to make sure that everything is still under his control. Ah! Kaido! That's his name, isn't it? He'll come to Naruto's apartment tonight; I'm sure of it. Even if it's just to casually walk past it." She stood up and stepped around her table to come face-to-face with the Jonin. "Go back to Yamanka-san and get the information on whatever chemical it was he used. Actually, it doesn't even matter anymore. Get Sasuke after that; tell Iruka to watch Naruto tonight. I'm going to pay the old lady a visit. We'll meet at Ichiraku's ramen shop at dusk."

"Understood. And what about the rest of them?"

"I'll take care of that scum," she said, her voice laced with the rage that was rising within her.

* * *

**Phew! What drama! And it's only about to get more intense! Prepare yourselves for some justice :) **

**I'd love to hear (well, read) your thoughts on this. I'm actually a little unsure on how this chapter turned out. Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I get most of my inspiration from reading all of your wonderful thoughts. Cheers! **


End file.
